In remarks at a Financial Executives International conference, U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chairman Paul S. Atkins urged the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) and Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB) to center their work on material investor needs, weigh benefits against costs and connect spending to measurable results. He called for both institutions to adapt to market and technological changes while keeping their agendas focused on their core responsibilities.
For accounting standards, Atkins welcomed the FASB’s Current Trends and Emerging Issues research project, which has already helped bring private credit disclosures onto its technical agenda. He called for preparers to distinguish initial implementation costs from ongoing expenses and for investors to identify information material to investment decisions. For audit oversight, the PCAOB should define the problem, assess evidence and consider reasonable alternatives before taking on a project. Analysis of costs and benefits should inform decisions from the outset, and early stakeholder engagement should become a regular practice rather than an isolated exercise.
Atkins also urged both bodies to link resources to clearly articulated strategies and regularly assess whether programs remain necessary and cost effective. Success should be measured by accounting standards and audit quality, not organizational growth or regulatory activity. That emphasis continues his earlier call for fiscal discipline and an updated PCAOB strategic plan, made when the SEC approved the board’s USD 362.1 million budget for 2026, a 9.4% reduction from the previous year.