ABSTRACT

As recently as the 1930s auditing was a laissez faire practice in the United States. Today US auditors are arguably the most regulated in the world due to the passage of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 (Pubic Law No. 107-204) and the creation of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB). With this legislation, the United States went from self-regulation by the accounting profession, with government oversight by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), to direct government control via the PCAOB, which has statutory authority to set auditing and ethics standards, and to verify compliance with these standards through the inspection of accounting firms. While the profession retains authority over the national examination to license certified public accountants, virtually every other significant aspect of auditing is now controlled by the PCAOB, at least with respect to publicly listed companies and SEC registrants.1