Ask financial leaders what threatens their function heading into 2027, and talent tops the list. Regulation comes next.
In FERF’s 2026 Finance Architecture Survey of 116 senior-level finance and accounting executives, 21% named shifting regulation as the greatest threat to their function’s stability over the coming year. Only the talent and skills gap ranked higher.
That concern lands at a demanding moment. Year-end disclosures, audit planning, and 2027 roadmaps are taking shape while regulators and standard setters set their priorities for the year ahead.
Four questions sit at the center of it. Each will be taken up by the people setting the agenda on November 12, Day 3 of FEI’s Corporate Financial Reporting Insights (CFRI) Conference.
Where is the SEC headed on disclosure?
Reporting teams need a clear read on the Commission’s direction before they finalize year-end filings. SEC Chairman Paul S. Atkins will outline the Commission’s priorities and the policy themes shaping financial reporting and disclosure for public companies.
eather Rosenberger, Chief Accountant of the SEC Division of Corporation Finance, follows with a discussion of where public company disclosure goes from here.
How will accounting judgments be evaluated?
Accounting judgment sits at the core of financial reporting quality, and every close depends on how those judgments are made and supported. Kurt Hohl, Chief Accountant in the SEC’s Office of the Chief Accountant, will address accounting judgments and the quality of financial reporting.
What does audit oversight look like in a changing environment?
Audit oversight shapes the conversations controllers and chief accounting officers have with their auditors every quarter. PCAOB Chairman Demetrios Logothetis will share his perspective on audit oversight as the environment evolves.
What comes next in standard setting?
Standard setting defines the long-range agenda for reporting teams. FASB Chair Richard Jones and Technical Director Jackson Day will preview what’s next.
How peers are putting it into practice
Regulators set direction, and peers show how it plays out inside the function. Chief accounting officers from Edwards Lifesciences, Northrop Grumman, Microsoft, and U.S. Bank close the day with a roundtable on controllership.
That exchange between practitioners and regulators runs through FEI’s work year-round. FEI’s Committee on Corporate Reporting (CCR), made up of corporate controllers and chief accounting officers from Fortune 100 and large public companies, engages directly with the SEC, FASB, and PCAOB through comment letters and advocacy.
For 45 years, CFRI has brought those same conversations to the broader profession. CFRI 2026 convenes online November 10–12, and also features Mastercard Chief Economist Michelle Meyer on the global economic outlook and KPMG US Vice Chair of Audit and Assurance Christian Peo on redesigning work in the age of AI.
The program offers up to 21 CPE credits, with CPE-accredited replays December 1–3 and on demand access for one year after the live event. FEI Members receive exclusive pricing, and an Unlimited Company Registration option ($9,995) extends access across an organization.
Register for CFRI 2026 »
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