Roundtable on registration of foreign audit firms with PCAOB
Mar 17, 2003
The US Public Company Accounting Oversight Board will convene a roundtable meeting on 31 March 2003 at which interested persons can present their views on the effect and operation of PCAOB registration and oversight of foreign public accounting firms.
The PCAOB has published (PDF 294k) that do not contain an exemption for non-US public accounting firms. PCAOB has identified certain questions to be discussed at the roundtable, including these:
- Should foreign firms be given an extended deadline for their initial registration?
- Are there any portions of PCAOB's draft registration form that are inapplicable, or that should be modified or supplemented, for non-US applicants?
- Do any of the PCAOB's registration requirements conflict with national laws?
- In the case of non-US firms that must register because they play a 'substantial role' in the audit of a US issuer, how should 'substantial role' be defined?
- Should registered foreign public accounting firms be subject to PCAOB inspection, or could the PCAOB, in some cases, rely on home-country regulation in lieu of inspection?