The Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB) said on Wednesday it will host a series of five in-person forums this year on auditing in the small business environment and on auditing broker-dealers, starting next month in Chicago.

“Smaller firms play an important role in our work to protect investors,” PCAOB Chair Erica Williams said in a statement. “These forums allow the PCAOB to share valuable resources and information with small firms to help them improve audit quality, while giving us a chance to hear from them directly about their unique needs and challenges.”

Each of the five PCAOB board members will host a forum in a different city across the country, starting with Williams in Chicago on May 22. Board member George Botic will host a forum in Los Angeles this summer, followed by fall 2024 forums hosted by board member Kara Stein (Denver), board member Christina Ho (Miami), and board member Anthony Thompson (Jersey City). Exact dates and locations will be announced as those events get closer.

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The forums in Chicago and Jersey City will be livestreamed, and recordings of all five forums will be made available on the PCAOB’s website for those unable to attend in person.

The forums are tailored to PCAOB-registered firms that audit smaller public companies or broker-dealers. They offer a unique opportunity where firms can interact directly with representatives from the PCAOB as well as other regulators in an educational setting. The PCAOB has held public forums annually since 2004, and Thompson hosted them virtually in 2022 and 2023. This year marks the first time since 2019 that forums will be held in person.

Participants at this year’s forums will receive a refresher on various auditing requirements as well as learn about new requirements that will become applicable in the near future. In addition to remarks from PCAOB board members, the agenda includes the following:

Presentations by PCAOB staff from the Office of the Chief Auditor, the Division of Registration and Inspections, and the Division of Enforcement and Investigations.
Illustrative examples related to revenue, critical audit matters, and fraud/journal entries, among other topics.
Presentations by staff of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority and the Securities and Exchange Commission.

There is no fee to attend the May 22 forum in Chicago—either in person or virtually— but advance registration is required and can be completed here. Continuing professional education credits will be awarded for those who attend the forum in person.

Forum attendees are encouraged to submit questions in advance via email. There also will be an opportunity to submit questions during the forum.

Registration information, event location, and other details for the remaining 2024 in-person forums will be announced closer to the date of each event.