PCAOB policy on international cooperation in inspections
27 Nov 2007
At its upcoming meeting on 5 December 2007, the US Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB) will consider issuing for public comment a proposed policy statement concerning its non-US inspections.
The policy statement identifies the factors relevant to 'full reliance' by the Board on the inspections systems of its non-US counterparts that are sufficiently rigorous to meet the level of protection for investors that is required by the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. The proposed policy would expand the guidance already in the Board's Rule 4012 Inspections of Foreign Registered Public Accounting Firms, which permits the Board to adjust its reliance on the inspections of auditor oversight entities located in the home countries of registered non-US audit firms based on the independence and rigor of those entities. Click for News Release (PDF 57k). PCAOB Chairman Mark W Olson explained the proposed policy statement during his remarks at the European Federation of Accountants' Conference on Audit Regulation in Brussels on 27 November 2007. Click to Chairman Olson's Remarks (PDF 102k).
