Each year, thousands of finance and accounting practitioners, auditors, and regulators convene in Washington, DC for the SEC’s annual AICPA Conference on Current SEC and PCAOB Developments in December. Over the course of three days, conference delegates hear from industry leaders and key decisionmakers about top accounting, auditing, and regulatory developments.
During this year’s Conference, the volatile market landscape inevitably topped the agenda as speakers discussed ways that companies can best navigate the current economic downturn. In addition to the relevant accounting and SEC hot topics, a couple of themes also emerged that were top of mind for event attendees:
- Accounting Talent Shortage: The labor market has seen major shifts in the three years since the COVID-19 pandemic began. The accounting industry has not been immune to this trend, with the Wall Street Journal reporting that more than 300,000 accountants and auditors have left their positions in the past two years. Conference speakers deviated from topics of previous years to recognize current trends in today’s post-pandemic work environment and the need to brainstorm new ways to make the profession more attractive and human-centric.
- Increased Risk: As we consider the current economic environment, Conference speakers acknowledged the prospect of an imminent global recession. Although most believe a potential recession will be relatively short and shallow, it will still have a multitude of accounting impacts. These include asset values and potential impairments, revenue recognition judgments, inflation ramifications, liquidity matters and share-based payment modifications—just to name a few.
As companies consider how to weather economic uncertainty from a risk perspective, they should consider what can be done in this reporting cycle to expand on the information being presented. Being proactive and adding detail now will reduce some of the lift when projects are finalized.