CHICAGO, Oct. 2, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Setara Financial Corp., a financial infrastructure company developing benchmark and reference-data infrastructure for the global compute economy, today announced the next stage in the development of its Reference Layer for compute markets. As artificial intelligence drives investment in GPUs, data centers, power and connectivity, compute is becoming an increasingly important economic input. Yet the market remains fragmented across hardware, providers, geographies, contracts and data sources. Setara is developing a Reference Layer to organize, standardize and evaluate information across this ecosystem, creating governed infrastructure that can make compute more measurable, comparable and financially usable.

“Compute is becoming too important to the global economy to be measured through disconnected proprietary data sets,” said Jack Bouroudjian, Chief Executive Officer of Setara Financial Corp. “The development of a financial market around compute requires a transparent and credible reference layer. Setara is building that infrastructure so market participants can understand what is being measured, where the information comes from, how it is evaluated and how reference values are constructed.” Setara’s architecture begins with a governed data model designed to standardize heterogeneous compute-market information before eligible evidence enters the benchmark calculation process. Its Benchmark Calculation Engine (BCE) provides the developing framework for evidence classification, eligibility review, normalization, calculation, quality control, provenance and controlled release.

Together, these components create a controlled path from compute-market information through standardized data and benchmark calculation to, where applicable requirements and authorization are satisfied, benchmark determinations. Setara is also developing the methodology, Rulebook, publication, correction, change-control and governance structures supporting its benchmark activities. Evaluation and methodology-development outputs are not Official Setara Benchmark determinations or live settlement references unless expressly identified as such. “Benchmark credibility begins with the integrity of the underlying data and the transparency of the methodology,” said Robert Alberghine, President and Chief Operating Officer of Setara Financial Corp. “Our objective is to build infrastructure where the relationship between evidence, methodology, calculation and benchmark determination can be understood and governed while protecting confidential source information.”

“Building a compute market is ultimately a data architecture and governance challenge as much as it is a financial one,” said Jeejo Pallayi, Chief Technology Officer. “The market needs a common framework that allows heterogeneous information to be brought together, evaluated and understood consistently.” Setara’s current methodology architecture organizes potential benchmarks across four principal families: Trade / Spot, Cost / Breakeven, Pipeline / Supply Risk, and Utilization. These represent the company’s current product and methodology framework and do not mean that every benchmark within these families is currently available or authorized as an Official Setara Benchmark determination. Setara is also developing reporting, data-feed and API capabilities to support future distribution of authorized benchmark and reference information. As it enters its next stage of development, the company is establishing a public methodology-disclosure framework covering evidence classification, calculation and release controls, source confidentiality, corrections, methodology changes and governance.

About Setara Financial Corp.

Setara Financial Corp. is a Chicago-based financial infrastructure company developing benchmark and reference-data infrastructure for the global compute economy. Setara is building technology, methodology and governance infrastructure intended to improve transparency, comparability and integrity across rapidly evolving compute markets.

For additional information, visit Setara Financial Corp. at setarafinancial.com
Follow Setara Financial Corp. on LinkedIn.

Media Contact:
Robert Alberghine
President & Chief Operating Officer
Setara Financial Corp.
robert@setarafinancial.com
630-464-9472

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SOURCE Setara Financial Corp.

Lemons, who served 11 years as the IRS Chief of Communications and Liaison, will advise Verito on turning complex security work into plain, actionable steps for tax preparers who never signed up to manage technology.

ORLANDO, Fla., Oct. 2, 2026/PRNewswire/ — Verito, a cloud hosting and managed IT provider built exclusively for tax and accounting firms, announced that long-time IRS executive Terry Lemons joined the company as a strategic advisor on October 1, the first day of Cybersecurity Awareness Month.

At the IRS, Lemons oversaw national communications and worked closely with the tax professional community, including speaking extensively on data security and working on the Security Summit, a joint effort between the IRS, state tax agencies and the tax community to battle tax-related identity theft.

The Accidental IT Department

People go into tax and accounting to work with numbers and clients, not to manage technology. But as hackers and security rules have both evolved, many preparers have become part-time IT staff by default: researching regulations, navigating increasingly complex software, and writing security plans between client meetings. Verito calls this the Accidental IT Department.

Tax professionals know the rules they answer to, from IRS Publication 4557 to the FTC’s Safeguards Rule. What helps practitioners navigate this complex IT landscape is plain direction what to do, in what order, and what they can hand off.

After the October 15 extension deadline, firms have a critical stretch before filing season to review their security plan, retrain staff, and close gaps.

“Our clients went into this work to serve their own clients, not to manage technology,” said Jatin Narang, CEO and founder of Verito Inc. “Every new threat and every new rule still lands on their desk. Our job is to take that work off their plate. Terry spent his IRS career explaining complicated topics in terms tax professionals could act on, and he’ll help us do the same.”

What Lemons Will Do With Verito

Make security guidance plain. Advise Verito on how it explains security to firm owners and staff, in plain terms they can act on.Join Verito webinars and panels. Appear as a speaker and moderator in sessions for tax and accounting firms and the associations that serve them.

“At the IRS, I spent more than a decade focused on data security through the Security Summit and related efforts,” Lemons said. “I’ve been impressed by Verito’s commitment to client service and their product. Working with the Verito team aligns with two of my long-term passions – highlighting the importance of protecting taxpayer data as well as working with the tax and accounting community.”

How Verito Protects Firm Data

Firms run Drake, UltraTax CS, Lacerte, ProSeries, QuickBooks, and their other applications on their own private cloud server. Verito also offers Managed IT through its VeritGuard service, built specifically for tax and accounting firms. Every plan is built with the IRS and FTC regulations in mind: enterprise antivirus and firewall, MFA on every login, encryption in-transit and at rest, backups multiple times a day with regular testing, and a 24/7 support team monitoring everything.

Learn more at verito.com

About Terry Lemons

Terry Lemons spent more than 26 years at the IRS, including 11 as Communications and Liaison Chief, where he advised six IRS Commissioners, led a 325-person team, and created the agency’s annual “Dirty Dozen” tax scams list. He retired in February 2025 and is Public Relations Director at Frost Law in metropolitan Washington. He’s also written a new Arcadia Publishing book, “The Year St. Louis Became A Baseball Town: The Cardinals, Babe Ruth & The 1926 World Series.”

About Verito

Work from anywhere on your firm’s own private cloud server. Verito manages IT for tax and accounting firms: secure, monitored 24/7, support in under 60 seconds. Founded in 2016, Verito serves 1,000+ tax and accounting firms with 100% uptime and a 95 Net Promoter Score. Its promise: It just works. Securely. Learn more at verito.com.

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SOURCE Verito

Commitment will help protect more than 1 million utility customers from rising costs while preserving reliable, carbon-free power

AUSTIN, Texas, Oct. 2, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Oracle today announced a commitment to subscribe to a portion of the existing Point Beach Nuclear Plant’s electricity generation, an action expected to save Wisconsin utility customers approximately $300 million in fuel costs. For more than 50 years, Point Beach has safely delivered dependable, carbon-free baseload power to Wisconsin. Oracle’s commitment will help shield customers from the plant’s rising costs, reduce pressure on household electricity bills, and sustain reliable power for the Wisconsin grid.

“Oracle is stepping up with a commitment that will directly benefit more than 1 million Wisconsin utility customers,” said Mahesh Thiagarajan, executive vice president, Oracle Cloud Infrastructure. “By absorbing approximately $300 million in rising energy costs, we are helping protect Wisconsin ratepayers while supporting the reliable, carbon-free power the state depends on. This is a meaningful investment in Wisconsin’s future—and in the communities we are proud to serve.”

The planned commitment builds on Oracle’s broader investment in Wisconsin through Project Lighthouse, its data center development in Port Washington. Project Lighthouse is expected to generate more than $11 billion for the local economy, create more than 4,000 skilled construction jobs over three years, support 1,000 ongoing operations positions, launch workforce development programs, and invest in local infrastructure. In addition, Oracle will fully fund Project Lighthouse’s energy costs to protect ratepayers’ electricity bills and support grid reliability. Oracle is committed to working closely with the community, local businesses, and public agencies to build responsibly in Wisconsin.

Oracle’s planned subscription to a portion of the Point Beach purchase power arrangement remains subject to approval by the Public Service Commission of Wisconsin. Oracle looks forward to working with state and local officials throughout the review process.

About Oracle
Oracle offers integrated suites of applications plus secure, autonomous infrastructure in the Oracle Cloud. For more information about Oracle (NYSE: ORCL), please visit us at www.oracle.com. 

Trademarks
Oracle, Java, MySQL, and NetSuite are registered trademarks of Oracle Corporation. NetSuite was the first cloud company – ushering in the new era of cloud computing.

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SOURCE Oracle