Pcob Section 101

3 – Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB) (source: PYP7-6 Kimmel textbook.) The PCAOB was created as a result of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. It has oversight and enforcement responsibilities over CPA firms in the United States.

First, Congress saw the need to create an independent body to oversee the audit of public companies that are subject to the securities laws. PCAOB was established to protect the investors and further the public interest in the preparation of informative, accurate, and independent audit reports for public companies. Before the SOX, The

The PCAOB is responsible for providing independent oversight for public accounting firms. Auditors independence job is to limit conflict of interest and monitor the requirements of new auditor approvals. Corporate responsibility require that senior executives take sole responsibility for completeness and accuracy of all corporate financial reports. Last but not least, enhance financial disclosures assures the accuracy of financial reports and

The Sarbanes-Oxley Act was a law created in 2002 to ensure that the boards of public companies oversee their companies in a more competent and transparent way in order to protect investors. Section 302 refers to the obligations of the corporate officers who sign the financial reports. The officers are responsible for verifying that the report is accurate and represents a true picture of the company’s financial condition. Section 401 states that The Commision must evaluate the financial reports. Section 404 covers the company’s internal control structure and the requirements of the accounting firm in assessing internal controls and reporting procedures. Section 409 requires a company to disclose information on changes to financial conditions or

The PCAOB is charged with establishing and enforcing auditing, quality control, ethics and independence standards and rules for public company accountants. The SEC will not accept an audit report from an accounting firm that is not registered with the PCAOB. Thus, SEC reporting companies must engage the services of a registered public accounting firm. The PCAOB is funded by new fees imposed on publicly-traded companies based on their market capitalization – the fees range from as little as $100 for the very smallest companies to more than $1 million for a handful of the largest companies.[4]

Part 1 of Sarbanes Oxley created the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board, which oversaw the audit of public companies, established auditing report standards and rules, and investigated, inspected, and enforced compliance with these rules (Jennings, 2015). Auditing companies must

This is an opinion on rules 3210 and 3211, regarding the new disclosure requirements, the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB) placed on accounting firms who perform audits on public companies. The new rules require the disclosure of engagement partner names and certain other participants performing public company audits. The requirements help provide financial statement users more transparent information on who performed the audit work and a percentage of the overall audit.

In addition, the PCAOB was given broad responsibilities, including enforcing the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, the SEC’s rules, the professional accounting standards, the securities laws, and its own rules. The Sarbanes-Oxley Act, among other things, created the PCAOB. Furthermore, to reaffirm the public's confidence in the nation's financial markets and to establish a more uniform system of corporate accountability and disclosure, the Sarbanes-Oxley's goals was to implement a series of controls and safeguards on public companies. Moreover, the Sarbanes-Oxley Act selected the Securities and Exchange Commission to oversee the PCAOB. Further, the Sarbanes-Oxley Act states that the PCAOB’s budget and accounting support fee be subject to approval by the SEC being that they are the ones who fund the operations of

Title II of Sarbanes-Oxley covers Auditor independence, it contains nine sections all covering different aspects of auditors’ independence. Section 201, Services outside the Scope of Practice of Auditors, details what activities are not allowed to be performed by auditors for a client if they are to be performing an audit for that client. Detailed in section 201 as prohibited in order to maintain auditor independence are legal and expert services unrelated to the audit, any investment advisement, investment banking services, management or human resource functions, internal audit outsourcing services, actuarial services, appraisal or valuation services, financial

Sarbanes Oxley Act of 2002 was enacted to protect investors by improving the accuracy and reliability of corporate disclosures. (Public Law 107-204, 2002) This law affects any publically traded company regardless of the industry of the business. Corporate management is held responsible for the validity of the financial statements, internal controls, and is required to submit Form 10-K to SEC every quarter. The Public Company Accounting Oversight Board was created by this act and given the authority to oversee how audits are performed. Audit firms are now required to undergo inspections by the PCAOB. PCAOB mandates accounting and auditing standards. Auditors are required to maintain independence and have a rotation requirement of every five years. It is illegal for corporate management to improperly influence the conduct of audits. The act also enhances corporate disclosure. Corporate management has a requirement of forfeiting

The PCAOB gives a new meaning to the public accounting industry. The board must be composed of five members, appointed for a 5-year term, two of which are Certified Public Accountants (CPAs) or have previously been CPAs, and three of which have never been CPAs. The chair of the PCAOB may be a CPA, but only if he has been out of practice for at least five years. "The members must be independent of the accounting profession as no member may, concurrent with service on the board, share in any of the profits of, or receive payments from, a public accounting firm, other than fixed payment such as retirement payments" (4). All members of the PCAOB must be appointed by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The board performs various jobs which include: "oversee the audit of public companies, establish audit report standards and rules, inspect, investigate and enforce compliance on the part of registered public accounting firms and those associated with the firms" (4). Not only do public accounting firms who audit the financial reports of public companies have to register with the PCAOB, but foreign public accounting firms must register as well. The standards of auditing include:

Based on the journal " Implication of Section 201 of the Sarbanes Oxley Act: The role of the audit committee in managing the informational costs of the restriction on auditors engaging in consulting" written by Michael G. Alies, Alexander Kogan and Miklos A. Vasarhelyi, the paper begins the process of providing an understanding of the tradeoffs that audit committees will have to manage in implementing Section 201 in the current legal and regulatory environment. Audit committees can perceive the responsibility that section 201 imposes on them as a burden or, instead as a source of discretion that can be exploited in the best interests of the business.

The Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX) was enacted in July 30, 2002, by Congress to protect shareholders and the general public from fraudulent corporate practices and accounting errors and to maintain auditor independence.   In protecting the shareholders and the general public the SOX Act is intended to improve the transparency of the financial reporting.   Financial reports are to be certified by the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and Chief Financial Officer (CFO) creating increased responsibility and independence with auditing by independent audit firms. In discussing the SOX Act, we will focus on how this act affects the CEOs; CFOs; outside independent audit firms; the advantages and a

For nonpublic companies auditing guidance are issued by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, AICPA. Prior to PCAOB, AICPA served as the primary governing body of public accounting profession. Since the roles have changed with PCAOB regarding the auditing standards for public companies, the AICPA is still developing standards for the nonpublic companies. The organization has developed four fundamental principles that govern an audit conducted in accordance with GAAP. The principles are:

These changes were outlined in the Sarbanes Oxley Act of 2002 (SOX). SOX completely revolutionized financial reporting, requiring senior management of firms to sign off on each financial statement that the company issues. It also stipulated that wrongful doing can result in not only termination but also imprisonment. SOX amplified the requirement for companies, requiring firms to maintain proper levels of internal controls when it comes to operating activities. SOX also established the creation of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB) which implemented stricter auditing standards for public accounting firms. Not only were accounting firms required to consider internal controls, but they were also required report any significant deficiency directly to the board of directors. SOX stressed the importance of internal controls, and within internal controls it established the need for segregation of duties. Since this time, there have been many additions to accounting policies regards segregations of duties, and many functions of the business process dedicated to it.