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Welcome to this edition of ZMW — a newsletter built for CFOs and controllers who want to stay ahead of material weaknesses before they become audit red flags. Whether you're preparing for SOX compliance, managing IPO-readiness, or just tightening up your internal control environment, this newsletter brings practical insights, industry trends, and real-world examples straight to your inbox. Our goal? Help you fix what’s weak, before the auditors find it.

News this week-

Regulatory Roundup: Key Financial Updates and Shifts

• The Public Company Accounting Oversight Board staff released new videos and hosted a May 13 workshop on QC 1000, the sweeping quality-control standard effective December 15 2025. Guidance zeros in on leadership responsibility, ethics, resource competence, and technology monitoring, giving smaller firms practical roadmaps to upgrade systems, mitigate inspection risk, and align audit quality with regulatory expectations ahead efficiently.

• Speaking at the Securities and Exchange Commission Crypto Task Force round-table on May 12, new Chair Paul Atkins announced an ambitious rule-making agenda for digital assets. Planned proposals will clarify issuance, custody, and ATS trading of crypto tokens, pause several enforcement actions, and aim to replace patchwork staff guidance with durable, investor-focused regulation.

• The U.S. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau cancels Toyota settlement and drops Walmart/Branch case: Reversing earlier enforcement wins, the CFPB vacated its \$60-million consent order against Toyota Motor Credit and dismissed a lawsuit accusing Walmart and Branch of “junk” instant-pay fees. The action erases restitution for affected borrowers and gig workers, indicating political willingness to unwind standing remedies and emboldening corporate targets to renegotiate.

• Commodity Futures Trading Commission admits misconduct, vows reforms after court rebuke: Responding to a federal court’s report recommending sanctions in CFTC v. Traders Global Group, Acting Chair Caroline Pham issued a May 13 statement admitting willful, bad-faith misconduct by CFTC attorneys and pledging cultural reforms, reorganization, and new cooperation guidelines. The unprecedented mea culpa could reshape ongoing crypto and derivatives enforcement and leadership dynamics significantly.

• Federal Reserve holds rates steady (FOMC, May 7 2025): On May 7 the FOMC kept the federal-funds target at 4.25–4.50 percent and the Interest on Reserve Balances at 4.4 percent, citing balanced but rising risks to inflation and employment. The steady-rate stance signals a higher-for-longer bias and sustains elevated funding costs across credit markets. Balance-sheet runoff continues incrementally tightening liquidity conditions further.

• Repeal of Unlawful Regulations: OMB Memorandum M-25-28 orders every federal agency to identify all regulations deemed unlawful under Executive Order 14219, justify any they wish to retain, and otherwise initiate immediate repeal. It re-orients rulemaking to recent Supreme Court limits on agency power and promises sweeping deregulatory action by midsummer 2025, easing compliance burdens.

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