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ACCOUNTING AND SEC HEADLINES:

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Capital Raising – SEC Publishes Staff Report on Capital-Raising Dynamics

The SEC’s Office of the Advocate for Small Business Capital Formation published and delivered to Congress its 2025 staff report that serves as a comprehensive and data-rich resource on capital-raising dynamics nationwide. The SEC indicates that the “report presents data across three company lifecycle stages to provide a fulsome picture of what is happening in the small business marketplace. It also highlights the past year’s work of the Office of the Advocate for Small Business Capital Formation, which advances the interests of small businesses and their investors at the SEC and in the capital markets.”

The report’s contents include:

• Data on small business capital formation;
• Highlights of the office’s outreach and public engagements during fiscal year 2025; and
• A summary of the activities of the SEC’s Small Business Capital Formation Advisory Committee in fiscal year 2025.

Investment Advisors – SEC Proposes Amendments to the Small Entity Definitions for Investment Companies and Investment Advisers

The SEC proposed amendments to the rules that define which registered investment companies, investment advisers, and business development companies qualify as small entities for purposes of the Regulatory Flexibility Act (RFA).

The SEC indicates that the “RFA requires federal agencies to conduct certain analyses, with the goal of minimizing the significant economic impact of federal rulemaking on small entities. This proposal would raise the small entity thresholds for investment companies and advisers. It is designed to help the Commission better tailor its analyses to address the specific regulatory challenges that these small entities face and consider adapting its rulemaking accordingly.”

This proposal would:

• Increase the asset-based thresholds under which investment companies and investment advisers are deemed small entities;
• Update the way that related funds’ assets are aggregated for purposes of defining small entities; and
• Provide for inflation adjustments to the asset-based thresholds by order every 10 years.

The public comment period will remain open until 60 days after the date of publication of the proposing release in the Federal Register.

Compensation – FASB Discusses Application of Topic 715 to Market-Return Cash Balance Plans

As reported in its “Summary of Decisions” publication, the FASB met on January 14, 2026, and discussed the application of Topic 715 to market-return cash balance plans. The FASB added a project to its technical agenda to address the discount rate used to measure the projected benefit obligation under Topic 715, Compensation—Retirement Benefits, for market-return cash balance plans. The FASB directed its staff to draft a proposed Accounting Standards Update (ASU) for vote by written ballot. The FASB also decided on a 60-day comment period for the proposed ASU.

SEC Activities – New Edition of GAAP Update Service Published

We have published a new edition of the GAAP Update Service, Special Edition: 2026 - The SEC and the Regulatory Year Ahead. This new edition takes a look at the SEC’s regulatory landscape for 2026.

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AUDITING AND INTERNAL CONTROL HEADLINES:

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Audit Documentation – New Edition of GAAS Update Service Published

We have published a new edition of the GAAS Update Service, A Refresher on Audit Documentation: AU-C Section 230, “Audit Documentation.” This new edition discusses AU-C Section 230, which addresses the auditor’s responsibility in an audit of financial statements to prepare audit documentation.              

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GOVERNMENT HEADLINES:

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GASB Technical Plan – New Edition of Governmental GAAP Update Service Published

We have published a new edition of the Governmental GAAP Update Service, What’s in the GASB’s Latest Technical Plan? This new edition summarizes the GASB’s first Technical Plan for 2026.

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