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PCAOB Proves It Has Teeth
While some companies are unfamiliar with the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB), PCAOB has recently been making its presence known. PCAOB is a private-sector nonprofit corporation created by the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 (SOX), whose stated purpose is to “oversee the audit of public companies that are subject to the securities laws, and related matters, in order to protect the interests of investors … ” Section 101(a). Although some questioned whether PCAOB would ultimately have any real-world impact on accounting firms and the public issuers they audit, PCAOB has proven that it has the authority, ability and appetite to shape the heightened environment in which companies now operate following passage of SOX and its focus on restoring investor confidence in companies' financial reporting.
PCAOB's duties include:
- registering public accounting firms that prepare audit reports for issuers;
- establishing auditing, quality control, ethics, and independence standards;
- conducting inspections of the registered accounting firms; and
- enforcing compliance with the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, professional standards and the securities laws relating to the issuance of audit reports, including bringing disciplinary proceedings and imposing sanctions for violations. Section 101(c). Although it is too soon to know how aggressive PCAOB will be in enforcement, PCAOB has been extremely active since its conception in carrying out its registration, establishment of standards and inspection responsibilities.
Accounting Firms Flock to PCAOB Registration
All accounting firms that audit publicly held companies must register with the PCAOB. Section 102(a). So far more than 1300 firms have registered, including 465 non-U.S. firms. Moreover, PCAOB member Willis Gradison, stating that 80% of the registered firms had less than five issuer clients, with some having no public clients, predicted that PCAOB's standards will ultimately be applied to non-public companies as well as public companies. It is therefore far more likely than not that most companies' auditors are registered with, and so must abide by the standards of, PCAOB.
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