PCAOB July 15, 2025
Erica Williams Resigns as PCAOB Chair
Williams will step down as chair of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board on July 22 after she reportedly was asked to resign by SEC Chairman Paul Atkins.
Auditing July 15, 2025
Three Accounting Firms Got in Trouble for Breaking PCAOB Rules
The three firms censured and fined by the PCAOB on July 11 for violating U.S. auditing rules and standards were Goldman & Co. CPAs ($25,000), Raymond Chabot Grant Thornton in Canada ($30,000), and PWR CPA ($60,000).
Auditing July 10, 2025
PCAOB Fines Illinois Firm $50,000 Over Failures in 17 Broker-Dealer Audits
Michael Coglianese, CPA PC was censured and fined $50,000 July 10 for violating U.S. auditing rules and standards in connection with 17 audit and attestation engagements for SEC-registered brokers and dealers.
Auditing July 7, 2025
PCAOB Shares Good Practices for Auditors on Engagement Acceptance
This edition of "Audit Focus" highlights key reminders for auditors of small public companies or brokers and dealers on engagement acceptance and why it's a critical part of the audit process.
Auditing June 25, 2025
PCAOB Permanently Bars Repeat Rule-Breaker
Michael Studer, CPA, was permanently barred on June 24 and his firm, Michael T. Studer CPA PC, had its PCAOB registration revoked after the accountant was found to be a repeat violator of U.S. auditing rules and standards.
Auditing June 25, 2025
PCAOB Doles Out $8.5M in Total Fines to Most of the Big Four’s Dutch Affiliates for Exam Cheating
The Netherlands-based affiliates of Deloitte, PwC, and EY were found to have violated U.S. auditing rules and quality control standards related to internal exam cheating and inefficient monitoring of their quality control systems.
PCAOB June 23, 2025
PCAOB Gets New Life—For Now—Thanks to the Senate’s Nonpartisan Referee
Republican lawmakers' plan to fold the PCAOB into the SEC hit a snag last Thursday when it was determined in the Senate that the provision in the GOP tax-and-spending bill violates the "Byrd Rule."
Auditing June 17, 2025
Cherry Bekaert Achieves Top 5 Hedge Fund Auditor Ranking Following Acquisition of Spicer Jeffries
Following the recent acquisition of the business of Spicer Jeffries LLP, Cherry Bekaert is now ranked first among middle-market accounting firms.
SEC June 16, 2025
SEC Picks Ex-Big Four Partner Kurt Hohl to be Chief Accountant
Kurt Hohl, a former partner at Big Four accounting firm Ernst & Young and an SEC alum, is returning to the markets regulator as its chief accountant, effective July 7.
Auditing June 13, 2025
PCAOB Docks Heaton & Co. $35K, Partner $25K for Multiple Audit Failures
The Utah-based firm and its founder/partner Kristofer Heaton were fined on June 12 for audit documentation, engagement quality review, and quality control failures involving five audits.
Technology June 4, 2025
Scytale Acquires AudITech
This acquisition will enable Scytale to offer a variety of security, privacy, and AI compliance automation for standards like SOC 2, ISO 27001, and now SOX IT general controls in one platform.
Auditing May 21, 2025
PCAOB’s Latest ‘Audit Focus’ Explores Challenges of Auditing Accounting Estimates
Auditing accounting estimates is the topic of the latest edition of "Audit Focus," a series of PCAOB publications that aims to provide easy-to-digest information to auditors.