Paul Atkins Takes the Wheel at the SEC
On April 21, Paul Atkins took office as Chair of the Securities and Exchange Commission. Â Chair Atkins served previously as a member of...
2024 PCAOB Conversations with Audit Committee Chairs
The PCAOB has released Spotlight: 2024 Conversations With Audit Committee Chairs  ( 2024 Conversations Report ), its annual summary of...
Accounting Class Action Count Didn’t Change Much in 2024, But Smaller Companies Were More at Risk
In its annual report on accounting-related class actions, Accounting Class Action Filings and Settlements—2024 Review and Analysis ,...
The CAQ on the Auditor’s Role in Climate Disclosure
The Center for Audit Quality has released The Role of the Auditor in Climate-Related Information . Â This paper provides insight into the...
Who Audits Public Companies? Large Firms Dominate, Although the Pie is Shrinking
Two recent reports on the market for public company audits indicate that the largest firms continue to dominate, although they are moving...
Is This the End of the PCAOB?
The 2025 budget reconciliation bill, which passed the House of Representatives on May 22, includes a provision  that would abolish the...
PCAOB Makes Downloadable Inspections Data Available
The PCAOB has announced  the availability of two online datasets of information from Part I.A and Part I.B of its inspection reports. ...
How the PCAOB Staff Sees the 2024 Inspection Results
The Public Company Accounting Oversight Board’s inspections staff has released Spotlight: Staff Update on 2024 Inspection Activities  (...
SEC Accounting and Auditing Enforcement Slumped in 2024, While PCAOB Enforcement Hit a New High
Three reports on accounting and auditing enforcement actions indicate that the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Public Company...
BDO on Financial Reporting Implications of Tariffs and Questions Audit Committees Should Ask
President Trump’s announcement of a program of new tariffs on imports from many countries have resulted in economic and business...
SEC Takes Another Step Away From Climate Disclosure
On March 27, the Securities and Exchange Commission voted to stop defending the validity of its rules requiring disclosure of...
E.U. is Dialing Back Sustainability Reporting and Due Diligence
European Commission (EC) has proposed legislation that would significantly reduce sustainability reporting under the E.U.’s Corporate...
Another Independence Monitoring Disclosure: PCAOB Makes Public a 2020 EY QC Criticism
On March 12, the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board released a previously nonpublic portion of Ernst & Young’s 2020 inspection...
PCAOB Issues Guidance on the Use of Specialists
The PCAOB inspection staff has published Spotlight: Considerations for Audit Firms Using the Work of Specialists  ( Specialist Spotlight...
The Better Part of Valor: PCAOB Withdraws its Engagement Metrics and Firm Reporting Rules
On February 11, the Securities and Exchange Commission issued a notice stating that the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board had...
PCAOB Makes Public 2021 Quality Control Criticisms of Deloitte and Grant Thornton
On February 3, the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board released previously nonpublic portions of the 2021 inspection reports of...
Acting Chair Asks Court to Pause Challenges to SEC Climate Disclosure Rules
Acting SEC Chair Mark Uyeda has directed the Commission’s appellate litigation team to request that the Court of Appeals for the Eighth...
What Should be on the Audit Committee’s 2025 Agenda? – Part III
The December 2024 Update and the January 2025 Update  included a discussion of five papers in which accounting or consulting firms...