Posts

The SEC vs. The PCAOB and Jim Doty: Impasse or Détente?

Jim Doty’s term as chairman of the PCAOB, the audit regulator, expired in October. All summer since I arrived in Washington D.C., leading up to that date and since, there’s been speculation about whether or not SEC Chairwoman Mary Jo White would reappoint him to the job.

Will Auditors Be Held Accountable? The PCAOB Has A Plan

I was in Washington DC to attend the March 24 meeting of the new Standing Advisory Committee (SAG) of the new PCAOB. I was surprised twice by a report presented by the PCAOB’s Investor Advisory Group at last week’s meeting. First surprise: Chairman Doty was right. Good people are looking at the issue of auditor effectiveness, especially during the crisis. Second surprise: The report quoted me.

Dear PCAOB Board: Your Job Is To Serve And Protect Investors

It’s time for the PCAOB Board to think about how they might respond when the audit firms are not going to be so pleased as punch. There’s much for them to address. I’ll be talking about some of those changes and improvements in future posts. But, the most important role of the PCAOB is the inspections process. Let’s take a look at how well that’s going.