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Spike in Fourth Quarter SEC Accounting and Auditing Enforcement Activity Results in Notable Increase in FY 2023

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In contrast, total monetary settlements were just over half of the average total settlements in the past five years.

WASHINGTON, Feb. 28, 2024 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ — The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission expanded its accounting and auditing enforcement activity in fiscal year 2023, while monetary settlements dropped for the second consecutive year, according to a new report released today by Cornerstone Research.

The report, SEC Accounting and Auditing Enforcement Activity—Year in Review: FY 2023, found that the SEC publicly disclosed 83 accounting and auditing enforcement actions in FY 2023, a 22% increase from FY 2022 and the highest number of actions initiated since FY 2019. More than half of the 83 actions were initiated in the fourth quarter of the fiscal year, and 28% were initiated in the last month alone of the fiscal year.

“The 22% increase in accounting and auditing enforcement activity in fiscal year 2023 outpaced the 8% increase in original enforcement actions brought by the SEC, suggesting an increased focus by the enforcement division on these matters,” said Steve McBride, a report coauthor, principal, and cohead of the accounting practice at Cornerstone Research.

Despite the SEC reporting $4.9 billion in total monetary settlements in FY 2023, the second highest on record, monetary settlements in accounting and auditing enforcement actions totaled $583 million, a 7% decrease from the prior fiscal year and 47% lower than the average of total monetary settlements in the prior five fiscal years. Disgorgement and prejudgment interest accounted for 67% of total monetary settlements imposed in FY 2023, while civil penalties accounted for 33% of the total monetary settlements. FY 2023 was the first time that civil penalties comprised less than half of total monetary settlements since FY 2020.

“The decline in monetary settlements during fiscal year 2023 may be due, in part, to a continued increase in the SEC’s consideration given to cooperation and remedial efforts when imposing monetary settlements,” added Simona Mola, a report coauthor and principal at Cornerstone Research. “Such consideration may translate in lower monetary settlements but not necessarily in no penalties at all. In fact, the proportion of respondents who received no monetary settlement decreased from last fiscal year.”

The SEC acknowledged that 26% of respondents who settled in FY 2023 offered cooperation, undertook remedial efforts, and/or self-reported to the SEC, up from 24% in FY 2022.

In addition to monetary settlements, the SEC imposed non-monetary sanctions on individual and firm respondents (e.g., officer and director bars, requirement to retain an independent consultant). Officer and director bars imposed on individual respondents who settled in FY 2023 increased to 31%, from 18% in FY 2022.

Of the 83 enforcement actions, 35 referred to announced restatements of financial statements, and 32 referred to announcements of material weaknesses in internal control. Actions referring to announced restatements and/or material weaknesses in internal control remained at 41, the highest level since FY 2021. The percentage of initiated actions referring to an announced restatement and material weakness in internal control (31%) reached its highest level in recent years. Consistent with FY 2022, the SEC’s most common allegations related to a company’s revenue recognition and internal accounting controls. One or both violations were alleged in 63% of FY 2023 actions.

Additional Trends

Of the 83 actions initiated during FY 2023, 71 were administrative proceedings and 12 were civil actions.The SEC issued non-monetary sanctions against 50% of individual respondents who settled in FY 2023, down from 62% of individual respondents who settled in FY 2022.There were 111 total respondents in accounting and auditing enforcement actions initiated in FY 2023, a slight increase from the 103 respondents in FY 2022.In FY 2023, the SEC initiated 11 actions against non-U.S. respondents, higher than the average of nine actions per year from FY 2018 to FY 2022.The SEC initiated one action in FY 2023 as part of its continuing Earnings Per Share (EPS) Initiative, its fifth action imposed in connection with the EPS Initiative since its inception in 2020.The SEC initiated three actions with alleged violations of Section 304 of Sarbanes-Oxley (“clawback” provision) in FY 2023, a sharp decrease from the nine actions initiated in FY 2022 and below the yearly average of five actions initiated in FY 2018–FY 2022.

About Cornerstone Research 
Cornerstone Research provides economic and financial consulting and expert testimony in all phases of complex disputes and regulatory investigations. The firm works with an extensive network of prominent academics and industry practitioners to identify the best-qualified expert for each assignment. Cornerstone Research has earned a reputation for consistently high quality and effectiveness by delivering rigorous, state-of-the-art analysis since 1989. The firm has over 900 staff in nine offices across the United States and Europe. 

Media Contact

Elisabeth Gaubinger, Cornerstone Research, 202.912.8909, egaubinger@cornerstone.com, https://www.cornerstone.com/

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Tuya Smart Brings Full-Stack AI into Everyday Life at IFA 2026

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45 minutes ago

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September 6, 2026

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BERLIN, Sept. 6, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Tuya Smart (NYSE: TUYA; HKEX: 2391), a global AI cloud platform service provider, is showcasing its latest advances in physical AI at IFA 2026 under the theme “Hey Tuya.”

Headlining the exhibit is the global debut of the new AI companion robot Doova, alongside the European debut of Tuya’s AI Home, AI Energy, and AI Robot ecosystems, the Hey Tuya whole-space intelligent interaction experience, a full-stack Matter portfolio, and development tools designed to help turn AI hardware concepts into working products.

The showcase illustrates how Tuya is connecting cloud intelligence, devices, and developer tools to move AI beyond screens and into practical use across homes, energy systems, robotics, pet care, and personal assistance.

Doova Extends Physical AI to Home Companionship and Assistance

Following the debut of Aura, Tuya’s AI companion robot for pets, Tuya is expanding its robotics portfolio with Doova, a home companion robot designed for independently living seniors to combine emotional companionship, everyday assistance, health-related reminders, and home monitoring. Doova is equipped with LDS LiDAR, sound source localization, and AI vision-based posture recognition algorithms.

Doova can respond to a simple voice request for help and navigate to the user’s location, assess their posture, and, if necessary, place a video call to family members. Day to day, it can hold conversations, play audio and video, help users understand complex bills and letters, flag potential fraud risks, and guide them through the operation of smart appliances. It can also provide medication, weather, and schedule reminders, along with practical suggestions related to meals, gardening, and clothing. When users are away, Doova can patrol the home and generate a security report.

Together, these capabilities demonstrate how physical AI can combine contextual awareness with connected-device control to support more responsive and accessible living experiences.

AI Home, AI Robot, and AI Energy Make Their European Debut

At IFA 2026, Tuya is presenting its AI Home, AI Robot, and AI Energy application ecosystems together in Europe for the first time, combined with the Company’s full-stack Matter solutions.

AI Home brings together a range of AI-powered devices, including an AI radar sleep speaker, AI printer, baby monitor, AI flower pot, and AI learning companion, extending AI capabilities into everyday scenarios such as home care, pet care, and plant care.

For example, the AI radar sleep speaker integrates millimeter-wave radar technology to accurately detect user activity and trigger adaptive smart home functions—such as automatically turning off the lights once the user falls asleep. It can also monitor heart rate, breathing, and snoring in real time to generate daily sleep analysis reports. In addition, built-in white noise, natural soundscapes, and meditation music help users relax and drift into sleep more easily.

The smart pet collar uses sensitive audio capture and AI-based emotion analysis to interpret changes in a pet’s vocalizations and breathing. The AI radar speaker combines natural-language control of connected devices with contactless radar sensing for heart rate, breathing, snoring, and sleep quality, alongside functions such as alarms, focus timers, and white noise.

AI Robot products span pet care, interactive collectibles, and desktop tools, including Aura, Fuzozo, Walulu, an AI owl, and an AI robot dog. Aura combines behavioral analysis and sound recognition to interpret a pet’s emotional state, while features such as laser play, treat dispensing, and simulated pet sounds support interactive companionship.

Tuya AI Energy connects balcony solar and storage, smart metering and distribution, and EV charging into a household energy network spanning generation, storage, measurement, management, and consumption. By integrating real-time and dynamic tariff data from more than 800 electricity providers and more than 1,000 dynamic tariff service providers across Europe, the system intelligently shifts household loads to help reduce overall energy costs, improving energy efficiency and reshaping the value proposition of home energy storage. The exhibit demonstrates how Tuya’s energy management capabilities coordinate infrastructure and connected devices across the home.

A Full-Stack Matter Portfolio for Interoperable Products

Tuya is also showcasing an end-to-end Matter portfolio spanning chip modules and cloud services. The offering supports Matter over Wi-Fi, Matter over Thread, and Ethernet, as well as bridges from Zigbee, Bluetooth, and Wi-Fi to Matter. It covers product categories including gateways, central control panels, lighting, plugs, sensors, curtain motors, thermostatic radiator valves, locks, and cameras.

Beyond standard Matter capabilities, Tuya layers on distinctive features — remote management, energy tracking, music-synced lighting — and integrates ecosystem tools like Amazon Frustration-Free Setup and the Google Matter API — allowing products to achieve cross-platform interoperability while preserving a differentiated user experience.

Hey Tuya Coordinates the Connected Home through Natural Language

Built on a multi-agent collaborative architecture, Hey Tuya is designed to coordinate services and devices across everyday scenarios rather than operate as a single-device assistant. Users can issue natural-language commands such as “Turn on the dining room lights” or “I’m leaving — activate monitoring,” allowing multiple devices and scenes to respond together.

The experience centers on four capabilities: round-the-clock home security monitoring; energy analysis and personalized efficiency recommendations; natural-language control and automation across multiple devices; and personalized services that adapt to household routines and preferences.

Tuya plans to continue improving the reliability, response speed, and task execution of Hey Tuya, while exploring subscription and value-added services in areas such as energy optimization, pet care, and video understanding.

Developer Tools Shorten the Path from Concept to Working Hardware

Tuya’s developer showcase presents a full technology stack for AI hardware development, where visitors can experience firsthand how ideas can be rapidly turned into functional AI applications that interact with and enhance daily life through the TuyaOpen open-source framework, Tuya Cobuilder, and Tuya AI Coding.

Tuya Cobuilder is an end-to-end Physical AI Builder designed for AI hardware developers. By simply describing an AI hardware concept in natural language, users can complete the entire development workflow in one place, ultimately enabling the application to run directly on real hardware. Tuya AI Coding, the Company’s AI-native no-code application development platform, lets users turn ideas into AI-powered applications with a single prompt—enabling non-technical creators to become builders of AI-powered experiences.

By bringing AI applications, interoperable device infrastructure, and development tools into one ecosystem, Tuya aims to help its global AIoT developer ecosystem create practical AI products more efficiently. The Company will continue advancing AI Home, AI Energy, and AI Robot applications and collaborating with developers and partners to make intelligent living safer, more convenient, and more responsive to individual needs.

About Tuya Smart

Tuya Inc. (NYSE: TUYA; HKEX: 2391) is a leading global AI cloud platform service provider dedicated to bringing AI into everyday life. Through its TuyaOpen open-source development framework and universal AI Agent engines, including the AI Agent development platform, Tuya integrates multimodal AI capabilities to lower barriers for AI development, efficiently advancing the realization of AI-driven lifestyles and accelerating AI integration with the physical world. Tuya offers innovative physical AI solutions for smart devices, commercial applications, and industry developers through its cloud computing and spatial intelligence capabilities. It also provides a complete, open, and neutral global AIoT ecosystem.

As of June 30, 2026, the Tuya AI Developer Platform had over 2,092,000 registered AI developers from more than 200 countries and regions.

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Changhong at IFA 2026: From Going Global to Going Local

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2 hours ago

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September 6, 2026

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BERLIN, Sept. 6, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — At IFA 2026, Changhong unveiled a new lineup of AI-powered home appliances spanning TVs, refrigerators, air conditioners and laundry appliances. Centered on real-life scenarios, the company is bringing AI technologies designed to better understand everyday needs into the product experience, highlighting its transition from technological innovation toward more intuitive living experiences. The showcase also signals Changhong’s continued localization efforts.

The concept comes to life across Changhong’s latest AI products. The Q60S Pro TV features the Changhong LeDong AI sports platform, extending the TV beyond a traditional content screen into a space for family fitness and interaction. An AI human-sensing air conditioner can recognize users’ locations and habits and adjust airflow accordingly, while an AI refrigerator uses intelligent sensing to help users take a more proactive approach to food freshness. Rather than adding complexity, Changhong is making everyday life simpler.

This is at the heart of Changhong’s exploration of “seamless technology”—technology that works quietly in the background. The best technology does not always need to be seen; it simply helps people worry less.

A distinctive cultural element is also finding its way into Changhong’s smart product experience. The brand has incorporated the giant panda into AI assistant interactions, bringing greater warmth and approachability to AI-powered TVs and other home appliances. Closely associated with Changhong’s Sichuan heritage, the panda also provides a natural way to bring a recognizable element of Chinese culture into the technology experience.

Skiing offers another bridge to European lifestyles. In recent years, Changhong has continued to strengthen its presence in Europe with CHiQ as an important brand vehicle, building closer connections with local consumers through sports partnerships, including sponsorship of FIS Ski World Cup events in Germany, collaboration with the German Ski Association and its role as an official partner of the FIS Ski Jumping World Cup. More than a sporting platform, skiing allows CHiQ to connect the speed, passion and outdoor spirit of the sport with its product experience, bringing technology closer to the way European consumers live.

Behind these initiatives is a deeper commitment to localization. From product experience and brand expression to sports, culture and local lifestyles, Changhong is creating more diverse touchpoints with the European market. From “going global” to “going local,” the company is moving beyond products and channels toward a deeper integration of its brands, technology and the markets it serves.

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CoolFly to Showcase Personal Flight Portfolio and NA80 Flight-Control Technology at IFA Berlin 2026

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4 hours ago

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September 6, 2026

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Dream ST will be on display as CoolFly highlights flagship Urban, high-performance Dream Pro and its expanding global dealer network

BERLIN, Sept. 6, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — CoolFly, a developer of personal electric aircraft and eVTOL technologies, is showcasing its Dream ST personal aircraft at IFA Berlin 2026, taking place September 4–8 at Messe Berlin.

Dream ST is on display at CityCube Hall B, Booth CCBB-143, in IFA’s Mobility area. While Dream ST is the aircraft physically presented at the show, CoolFly is also introducing its broader product portfolio, including high-performance Dream Pro and flagship Urban.

Dream ST is a lightweight, single-seat electric aircraft designed for personal and recreational flight, featuring a seated configuration and quick-fold design for easier transportation and storage.

Dream Pro extends the platform with greater payload, endurance and performance. It supports a maximum payload of 120 kg, reaches a maximum speed of 100 km/h, and can achieve up to 40 minutes of flight time with a 70 kg pilot onboard, depending on operating and environmental conditions.

Urban, CoolFly’s flagship personal aircraft, features a standing-position configuration and enclosed-propeller architecture, reflecting the company’s effort to create a more intuitive and distinctive personal flight experience.

All three aircraft share CoolFly’s self-developed NA80 flight control system. NA80 uses a dual-redundant architecture with two independent flight-control units, each integrating three aviation-grade inertial measurement units (IMUs). The system continuously monitors aircraft attitude and motion, supports millisecond-level fault detection and failover, and serves as a common technology foundation across CoolFly’s product portfolio.

Dream ST, Dream Pro and Urban have all obtained CE and FCC certifications for applicable product compliance requirements, supporting CoolFly’s continued international expansion.

CoolFly is also actively recruiting dealers, distributors and commercial partners worldwide, with a current focus on Europe, North America, Australia, the Middle East and other key markets.

Prospective partners and media are invited to visit CoolFly at IFA Berlin 2026, CityCube Hall B, Booth CCBB-143.

About CoolFly
CoolFly develops personal electric aircraft and eVTOL technologies, integrating aircraft design, propulsion and self-developed flight-control systems to make personal flight more accessible.

Media: press@coolflyaircraft.com
Business: support@coolflyaircraft.com

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