The Harvard Law School Forum on Corporate Governance https://corpgov.law.harvard.edu The leading online blog in the fields of corporate governance and financial regulation. Thu, 10 Sep 2026 11:32:17 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.5.10 https://corpgov.law.harvard.edu/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/cropped-photography-4-e1706898544564-1-32x32.png SEC Announces Dedicated Financial Reporting and Accounting Unit: Implications for Audit Committees, Boards and Public Companies – The Harvard Law School Forum on Corporate Governance https://corpgov.law.harvard.edu 32 32 SEC Announces Dedicated Financial Reporting and Accounting Unit: Implications for Audit Committees, Boards and Public Companies https://corpgov.law.harvard.edu/2026/09/10/sec-announces-dedicated-financial-reporting-and-accounting-unit-implications-for-audit-committees-boards-and-public-companies/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=sec-announces-dedicated-financial-reporting-and-accounting-unit-implications-for-audit-committees-boards-and-public-companies https://corpgov.law.harvard.edu/2026/09/10/sec-announces-dedicated-financial-reporting-and-accounting-unit-implications-for-audit-committees-boards-and-public-companies/#respond Thu, 10 Sep 2026 11:30:20 +0000 https://corpgov.law.harvard.edu/?p=183717?d=20260909142925EDT Posted by Anita B. Bandy, Andrew M. Lawrence, and Katherine S. Correia, Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP, on Thursday, September 10, 2026
Editor's Note:

Anita B. Bandy and Andrew M. Lawrence are Partners and Katherine S. Correia is an Associate at Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP. This post is based on their Skadden memorandum.

Executive Summary

  • What’s new: The SEC announced the creation of a dedicated Financial Reporting and Accounting Unit within its Division of Enforcement. The unit consolidates nationwide resources and expertise previously dispersed across regional offices to investigate and bring enforcement actions related to public company accounting and financial reporting.
  • Why it matters: Accounting and financial reporting cases are central to the SEC’s enforcement mission and among the most complex cases the agency pursues. The creation of a dedicated unit with consolidated resources and specialized expertise signals an intent to accelerate investigations and enforcement actions focused on public company accounting, financial reporting and disclosures, and internal controls over these functions.
  • What to do next: Companies will want to ensure they have robust internal accounting and disclosure controls — including policies and procedures governing non-GAAP and guidance reporting that are not subject to audit testing — and assess materiality from both quantitative and qualitative perspectives.

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