Today I accepted Erica Williams’ offer to resign as chair and a board member of the PCAOB and thanked her for her service. I am grateful she has agreed to stay on until July 22nd. We look forward to advancing our oversight responsibilities of the PCAOB as it continues its important work. Source: Statement Regarding Tenure of Erica Williams at…
Fortunately, a legal disaster was averted when the Senate Parliamentarian ruled that certain portions of the Administration’s bill (including the portions relating to the PCAOB) were outside the permissible scope of budget reconciliation legislation under the Senate’s rules. Still, the fate of the PCAOB remains uncertain. Its members can be removed by the SEC, seemingly without cause, as the result…
Senate Republicans have granted a reprieve to the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board, excluding from the chamber’s tax-and-spending plan an earlier provision that would have dismantled the audit overseer. Draft text released Thursday night by the Senate Banking Committee leaves out a previous measure that would have scrapped the board, the cornerstone of a 2002 corporate reform law passed in…
A Republican plan to shutter the US audit board violates Senate rules for a fast-track budget process, Budget Committee ranking member Jeff Merkley’s office said. Senate Parliamentarian Elizabeth MacDonough ruled that the attempt to eliminate the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board doesn’t qualify to be included in the GOP’s sweeping tax and spending bill, according to Merkley (D-Ore.). The GOP…
Senate Republicans would eliminate the US audit watchdog and transfer its mission to the SEC, but prevent the Wall Street regulator from raising fees to pay for its expanded mission, according to a draft spending plan released on Friday. The Senate Banking Committee would eliminate the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board and reassign its role regulating the work of auditors…
The budget anticipates approximately 4,100 full-time equivalents (FTEs), representing a net reduction of 447 FTEs compared to fiscal 2025 levels. Taking a look at the budget justification (thanks to the Daily Update from Securities Docket for highlighting!), it appears that the Enforcement Division is expected to be down to approximately 83% of its fiscal 2024 staffing levels, while Corp Fin…
“The Democrats in the Senate are likely to go to the Parliamentarian and seek a ruling that some of this legislation that gets put into the so-called Big Beautiful Bill is not relevant to the budget and therefore cannot be included in the Big Beautiful Bill.” “The question then becomes – does the parliamentarian want to keep her job or…
Republicans who support the proposal say the PCAOB has become overly politicized and performs duties duplicative of the SEC and that moving its functions to the commission would make them more accountable to Congress. SEC Chair Paul Atkins, who criticized the board as an SEC commissioner in the mid-2000s, said at a congressional oversight hearing Tuesday that the commission is…
Republican lawmakers advanced legislation that would eliminate the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board, the independent watchdog for firms that audit publicly traded companies, and move those responsibilities under the Securities and Exchange Commission. The House Financial Services Committee voted 30 to 22, along party lines, to advance the PCAOB measure as well as legislation to cut the budget for the…
The US audit regulator on Monday said a House Republican plan to dismantle the agency and hand over its duties to the SEC would weaken a critical backstop that protects investors. “The unique experience and expertise built up by the PCAOB over decades cannot simply be cut and pasted without significant risk to investors at a time when markets are…