The Friday Lowdown ⬇️

If you're new around here, every day I share the 4-5 best accounting insights I saw in the past 24 hours.

I scroll. so you don't have to.

💎 WTF of the Day

The IRS Just Hiked ACA Penalties for Employers

Starting in 2026, if you’re a big employer and mess up your health coverage under the ACA, the IRS will hit you harder.

Penalties are jumping to $3,340 per employee if you don’t offer coverage and $5,010 if you offer bad or unaffordable coverage. That’s up $440 and $660 from last year.

Offer decent insurance… or get ready to pay.

Source: benefits pro

💎 What’s poppin in accounting

FASB Just Gave GAAP a Massive Cleanup

The rulebook behind U.S. accounting GAAP, just got a refresh. FASB approved 30+ updates to clean up confusing rules and fix stuff that’s been tripping people up.

We’re talking tweaks to how companies report losses, retire stock, handle lease receivables, and more. Nothing earth shattering, but it’s the biggest codification cleanup in years.

The changes kick in for 2026 year-ends. Think of it as FASB finally clearing out the junk drawer.

Source: cfo dive

 📊 Weekly Trend Chart

The LA Times Is Bleeding Cash and Going Public Anyway

FThe LA Times lost $50 million, laid off 20% of its newsroom, and lost a quarter of its print readers last year. Now the billionaire owner wants to take it public.

Print’s dying, ad revenue’s shrinking, and unlike the NYT, the LA Times has no games, no cooking app, no Plan B. Even with a Jon Stewart shoutout, it didn’t crack the top 50 news sites online.

#😂 

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