EU expresses 'major concerns' to SEC on foreign auditor registration
23 Apr 2003
EU Internal Market Commissioner Frits Bolkestein has written a Letter (PDF 28k) to the Chairman of the US Securities and Exchange Commission expressing four "major concerns" about the rules on auditor registration and oversight proposed by the new Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB).
The letter, sent at the request of the European Union's Finance Ministers, says that "the rules and the registration requirements they contain will cause major difficulties for European audit firms". The EU is requesting "full exemption for EU audit firms" from the rules on registration under section 106(c) of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act – or at least a one-year moratorium to allow time for further discussion. An attachment to the letter cites instances of conflicts of the PCAOB's proposed rules and EU and national laws.