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 Dial 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...
President Puts FCPA Enforcement on Hold
On February 10, President Trump issued an Executive Order  directing Attorney General Bondi to pause enforcement of the Foreign Corrupt...
It’s Another All-Time High! Audit Fees Rose Again in 2023
Two annual reports on audit and other fees paid to auditors have been released, and both reach the same conclusion: Fees hit a new high...
Six Large Firms Describe Their Commitment to Audit Quality
The U.S. members of the six global network accounting firms issue annual audit quality reports. These reports describe the firm’s...
SEC Sidetracks PCAOB Engagement Metrics and Firm Reporting Rules
The Securities and Exchange Commission has postponed its decision whether to approve the PCAOB’s firm and engagement performance metrics...
What Should be on the Audit Committee’s 2025 Agenda? – Part II
The December 2024 Update included discussion of four papers that suggest issues on which audit committees should focus in 2025. See...
California Will Go Easy on Enforcement of GHG Emissions Reporting in 2026
The California Air Resources Board (CARB) has announced that it will not take enforcement action during the first reporting year against...
PCAOB Outlines 2025 Inspection Priorities and What Audit Committees Should Ask Their Auditor
The Public Company Accounting Oversight Board’s inspection staff describes its priorities for 2025 in Spotlight: Staff Priorities for...