On May 19, FASB issued ASU 2026-02, new rules for environmental credits and environmental credit obligations. The standard covers carbon offsets, emissions allowances and renewable energy certificates. It takes effect for most companies in fiscal years starting after December 15, 2026.

The Signal  — Until now, there was no single GAAP standard for clients that buy, earn or owe environmental credits. Firms were piecing together guidance from multiple standards and making judgment calls. ASU 2026-02 closes that gap. Any client in cap-and-trade programs, fuel compliance or renewable energy now has a specific rule set to follow. What to watch: Run through your client list and flag anyone with environmental credit exposure before year-end. Early adoption is permitted for periods starting after December 15, 2025. Calendar-year clients are already in scope.

Elon Musk lost his lawsuit against OpenAI this week. The court ruled he had waited too long to file, so the core question, whether OpenAI abandoned its nonprofit mission after taking billions from Microsoft, was never fully litigated on the merits. The verdict is being read as a win for OpenAI.

The Signal  — Most organizations now run core operations through one or two AI vendors. The OpenAI case made the concentration problem visible: what happens to your workflows if pricing changes, access gets restricted or the vendor's mission shifts under new capital pressure? The trial closed without answering that. Boards that have not mapped their AI vendor dependencies are flying blind. What to watch: Two questions worth putting to your board or leadership team now. Which AI vendors have structural control over something mission-critical? And what is the exit plan if terms change?

Google announced Gemini Spark at Google I/O on May 19. It runs in Gmail and Google Docs automatically, monitoring inboxes, flagging items and taking actions even when the user's computer is off. Every Google Workspace business customer gets it this summer at no extra charge.

The Signal  — Most small business clients of CPA firms use Google Workspace. Gemini Spark goes active by default, no opt-in required. CPAs who skip the governance conversation may find clients have auto-routed invoices, shared sensitive documents or responded to emails through AI before anyone noticed. What to watch: Two questions for every SMB client before Gemini Spark goes live: what data can it read, and who reviews what it acts on? Firms that build a simple one-page AI use policy for SMB clients this quarter will look like the prepared ones by Q3.