Master the shift from narrative reporting to audit-ready data in an era of AI, ESG, and heightened regulatory scrutiny.
This is the second in a two-part series on the 2026 Economic and Technical Accounting Update.
The First Quarter of 2026 reflects an ongoing evolution in the global economic landscape and the technical accounting environment. Organizations are navigating a complex mix of moderating inflation, interest rate uncertainty, labor market shifts, and geopolitical pressures, all of which directly influence financial reporting, estimates, and disclosures.
Accounting standard-setters and regulators—including the FASB, SEC, PCAOB, and international bodies such as the ISSB—continue to advance initiatives. Initiatives are focused on transparency, comparability, and emerging areas such as sustainability reporting, digital assets, and the use of AI.
This course provides an update on key economic trends and technical accounting developments impacting financial reporting in Q1 2026. Participants will gain insights into how macroeconomic conditions influence accounting judgments, as well as how to apply recent and upcoming accounting standards in real-world scenarios.
Lynn Fountain has over 45 years of experience spanning public accounting, corporate accounting and consulting. 24 years of her experience has been working in the areas of internal and external auditing. She is a subject matter expert in multiple fields including internal audit, ethics, fraud evaluations, Sarbanes-Oxley, enterprise risk management, governance, financial management and compliance. Ms. Fountain has held two Chief Audit Executive positions for international companies. In 2011, as the Chief Audit Executive for an international construction/ engineering firm, she was involved in the active investigation of a joint venture fraud. The investigation included work with the FBI and ultimately led to indictment of the perpetrators and recovery of $13M. Ms. Fountain is currently engaged in her own training and consulting business and is a regular trainer for the AICPA. Ms. Fountain is the author of three separate technical books. “Raise the Red Flag – The Internal Auditors Guide to Fraud Evaluations” was published by the Institute of Internal Auditors Research Foundation. -“Leading The Internal Audit Function” and -“Ethics and The Internal Auditor Political Dilemma” were published by Taylor & Francis In addition Ms. Fountain was a contributing author to the certification program exam for the National Association of Accountants. She also has certificate programs on various on-line platforms. Ms. Fountain has performed as an adjunct instructor for the School of Business for Grantham University and developed the first internal audit curriculum for the School of Business at the University of Kansas. Ms. Fountain obtained her BSBA from Pittsburg State University and her MBA from Washburn University in Kansas. She has her CGMA, CRMA credentials and CPA certificate (non-active).
