SEC says it has set FY 2027 exam priorities, but report not verified

The Securities and Exchange Commission said on Oct. 23, 2026, that its Division of Examinations had announced Fiscal Year 2027 examination priorities, but available SEC publications do not support a verified FY 2027 priorities report as of that date. The discrepancy matters because the annual priorities document is the agency’s main public guide to examination focus areas for the coming year.

What can be verified

In its Oct. 23 press release, the SEC said the Division of Examinations had issued its Fiscal Year 2027 priorities. However, background verification supplied with the material notes that searches of SEC publications and announcements did not locate a Fiscal Year 2027 examination priorities report. The latest annual examination priorities report that could be verified was the Fiscal Year 2026 release, published Nov. 17, 2025, according to the SEC.

The SEC’s current Examinations news listing also continues to identify the FY 2026 priorities release rather than a FY 2027 announcement, the provided background notes say. A separate FY 2027 Congressional Budget Justification exists, but it is not the annual examination priorities report and should not be treated as one.

Why the distinction matters

The Division of Examinations uses its annual priorities to signal where it expects to focus oversight across firms it examines, including investment advisers, investment companies, broker-dealers, clearing agencies and self-regulatory organizations. The supplied background states that the Division’s published priorities are not exhaustive and that individual examinations also take into account a firm’s history, operations, products and services.

The FY 2026 announcement, which remains the latest verified priorities report in the material provided, highlighted fiduciary duty, standards of conduct, the custody rule, compliance with the 2024 amendments to Regulation S-P and examinations of newly registered advisers and investment companies. No equivalent verified FY 2027 priorities list was supplied.

Related SEC activity

Other recent SEC examination-related announcements include a virtual National Compliance Outreach Seminar for investment companies and investment advisers on Oct. 6, 2026, a new Exam Handbook announced on Oct. 1, 2026, and Examinations Observations Regarding Investment Adviser Annual Compliance Review released on Sept. 14, 2026, according to the enrichment material.

Because the existence of a verified FY 2027 examination priorities report is unclear in the provided evidence, the timing of any next priorities release remains unknown from the material supplied.