![Fractional CFOs: the connector model for SMEs [UK]](/placeholder-hero.svg)
Part-time CFOs bring networks along with spreadsheets. For SMEs needing lender intros or M&A guidance without full-time salaries, fractionals bridge the gap. Andy Mellor and Jacinta Magee explain how it works.
![HMRC's crypto disclosure service nets £4m in two years [UK]](/placeholder-card.svg)
HMRC's voluntary cryptoasset disclosure service has collected just £4.15m since November 2023, despite sending over 100,000 nudge letters to investors. The low yield arrives as new reporting rules took effect on 1 January 2026, requiring platforms to report user data or face £300-per-user fines.
The Financial Data and Technology Association appointed Kat Cloud, head of government relations at Sumsub, to its board. Cloud specialises in identity verification, fraud prevention, and data access compliance as financial services digitise.
Chicago's Grant Thornton and the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners published their Anti-Fraud Blueprint on 12 February 2026. The guidance builds on the 2023 COSO-ACFE Fraud Risk Management Guide and includes a maturity assessment model for CFOs working through governance, controls, and detection.
Treasury issued Notice 2026-15 on 12 February, providing safe harbours for CFOs to test whether prohibited foreign entities are torpedoing their clean energy tax credits. Comments due within 45 days. This matters if you're claiming §45X, §45Y, or §48E credits and have Chinese, Russian, Iranian, or North Korean connections anywhere in your supply chain.
Robert Half's February 2026 survey of 2,000 US hiring managers found only 6% of finance leaders have adequate staff for priority projects. Sixty-two per cent report skills gaps worsened year-on-year. AI-generated applications complicate hiring. Sixty per cent plan permanent hires in H1 2026. Fifty-five per cent will increase contract hiring. Fifty-seven per cent prioritise upskilling existing staff. Twenty-six per cent outsourcing compliance work. Despite shortages, 83% of managers remain confident about 2026 growth. Interim professionals and fractional CFOs filling gaps where full-time hires aren't feasible.
Guardia di Finanza searched Amazon's Milan headquarters and KPMG offices on 12 February 2026, investigating whether Amazon maintained an undisclosed permanent establishment in Italy from 2019 to 2024. Seven Amazon managers' homes were also searched. KPMG provided tax opinions on the actions being investigated but is not itself under investigation. Amazon already paid €510 million in December 2025 to settle a separate dispute covering 2019 to 2021. Italian prosecutors are running two additional investigations into Amazon covering later periods and customs fraud involving Chinese imports.
MYOB published its 2025 innovation recap, focusing on updates for small and medium businesses and their accountants. The post stays deliberately vague on specifics—typical vendor playbook—but signals the company prioritized SMB-facing features over enterprise spray-and-pray. Worth monitoring: If you're a MYOB user or advisor, the full Pulse blog will detail what made the cut. Expect the usual: compliance updates (likely ATO-driven), integrations, and UI tweaks positioned as "innovation." The real implication? Accounting software is increasingly commoditized. Vendors now compete on speed-to-compliance, not flashy features. MYOB's messaging reflects that reality—boring wins in 2025.
A local bookkeeping firm has gone fully remote using MYOB Practice Compliance, proving cloud-based compliance software can actually handle real-world operations—not just promise to. The shift matters because it shows the compliance game is finally catching up to how people actually want to work. No more tethered desks, no more keeping servers on-site, just lodgements and reconciliations happening from wherever. The practical upside: remote teams mean access to talent beyond your suburb. The compliance upside: MYOB Practice still handles ATO integration, tax compliance, and deadline tracking without needing IT support breathing down your neck. Worth watching if your practice has been eyeing the cloud but worried about the actual handover.
Employers need to start making superannuation contributions on each payday from 1 July, rather than quarterly. The legislative shift means payroll systems need updating and processes need tweaking to stay compliant. Key implication: Your payroll software needs to handle per-payday super calculations instead of bulk quarterly reconciliation. If you haven't started planning this with clients, now's the time—there's less than a month to sort it. Expect questions about software compatibility and timing. Most accounting software is already patched, but manual processes will break. Get ahead of it.
In uncertain economic times, businesses that master cash flow management will outperform those focused solely on profitability.
The normalization of late payments is strangling small businesses. It's time for systemic change.