The next chair of the Center for Audit Quality (CAQ) Governing Board is Paul Knopp, U.S. CEO of Big Four firm KPMG, who was elected to the position on April 1.

Knopp will succeed Tim Ryan, senior partner of PwC in the U.S., as CAQ Governing Board chair. Ryan is retiring from PwC on June 30.

“With rapidly emerging technologies such as generative AI, new corporate reporting areas including new climate disclosure rules and a need to strengthen the talent pipeline for the future, now is a transformative time for the public company audit profession,” Knopp, who has led KPMG since July 2020, said in a statement. “I look forward to supporting the CAQ in executing their strategic agenda and supporting the profession as it embraces the future of financial reporting while maintaining a laser focus on investor protection through high-quality audits.”

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The CAQ’s Governing Board is comprised of a variety of leaders representing the financial reporting ecosystem, including CEOs from some of the largest public company audit firms, the AICPA, as well as independent board members from investor, board member, and issuer communities. The Governing Board oversees the CAQ’s strategic agenda and activities.

“The financial reporting landscape is constantly evolving, creating new challenges and opportunities for the public company audit profession,” said CAQ CEO Julie Bell Lindsay. “With his extensive experience serving large, multinational clients as an audit partner and his leadership and long-standing dedication to the profession as the chair and CEO at KPMG, Paul will be essential to the CAQ as we fulfill our mission of supporting high-quality financial reporting, convening capital market stakeholders to advance discussions on audit quality issues, and championing policies and standards that bolster and support audits.”

Lindsay also praised Ryan’s work on the CAQ Governing Board, saying, “Tim has been instrumental in leading the CAQ to help address some of the most important issues impacting our profession, from the talent pipeline to helping the profession lead the way in emerging areas of corporate reporting like climate and cybersecurity.”