SEC, PCAOB accounting, auditing enforcement actions drop: Cornerstone

Group 1 - The SEC's enforcement actions have significantly decreased, with accounting and auditing enforcement actions falling 68% to 10 in 2025 from 31 in 2024 [5] - The PCAOB's finalized enforcement actions also dropped by 27% to 37 in 2025 from 51 in the previous year [5] - The total value of the SEC's monetary settlements saw a drastic decline from $907 million in 2024 to $31 million in 2025, with 98% of these penalties imposed during the final weeks of the previous chair's tenure [5] Group 2 - The new leadership at the SEC and PCAOB is expected to bring a shift towards more targeted enforcement and collaborative rule-making [4] - The SEC's accounting and auditing enforcement actions reached a nine-year low, indicating a significant reduction compared to the initial years of the previous two SEC chairs [5] - The current SEC leadership emphasizes the quality and impact of enforcement actions over the quantity of actions taken [4]