PCAOB Asks For Comments on Interim Attest Standards

The Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB) today issued a staff request for information and comment on matters related to the application and use of the board’s interim attestation standards. Input from the public will help inform any potential recommendation the staff may make to the board regarding updates to the interim attestation standards.

Modernizing standards is one of the four key goals the PCAOB identified in its draft strategic plan. To meet that goal, earlier this year, the board announced one of the most ambitious standard-setting agendas in PCAOB history, including plans to modernize interim standards that have not been updated since they were initially adopted decades ago. Today’s announcement is part of that effort.

“The world has changed since 2003, so to ensure investors are protected, our standards must adapt to keep up,” said PCAOB Chair Erica Y. Williams. “We urge the public to provide our staff with input on how we can best bring our attestation standards up to date.”

Registered public accounting firms are sometimes engaged to examine and report on matters outside of an audit of financial statements.

PCAOB attestation standards apply to attest engagements, which generally involve issuing a report on subject matter, or an assertion about subject matter, that is the responsibility of another party. For example, attest engagements may concern a company’s compliance with laws and regulations, or a company’s historical data or measures that are evaluated against certain criteria.

In April 2003, the PCAOB adopted on an interim basis certain attestation standards from the American Institute of CPAs. These standards have continued in effect substantially as they were adopted.

Comments are requested by Oct. 26, 2022, and can be submitted through the following methods:

By email to comments@pcaobus.org;
Through the PCAOB’s website; or
By postal mail to the Office of the Secretary, PCAOB, 1666 K Street, NW, Washington, DC 20006-2803.

All comments should refer to “Request for Information and Comment on the Application and Use of the PCAOB’s Interim Attestation Standards” on the subject or reference line. Additional information and specific questions for consideration are detailed in the staff request for information and comment document.