
On Nov. 4, the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB) published updated standard-setting and rulemaking agendas, reflecting its progress in 2024. The updates further the PCAOB’s strategic goal of modernizing standards and rules to better protect investors.
“The PCAOB continues to achieve significant results and advance our investor-protection mission in 2024 by modernizing our standards and rules that have fallen out of date after decades without substantial revision,” noted PCAOB Chair Erica Williams in a release. “We look forward to building on our progress as we close out 2024 and head into the new year.”
In terms of its short-term standard-setting agenda, the PCAOB will consider adopting amendments relating to firm and engagement metrics in 2024, proposing a new Going Concern standard and adopting a new Substantive Analytical Procedures standard, both in 2025. The PCAOB also said that the project previously known as “other reporting” has been renamed “auditor reporting in specified circumstances."
The updates above follow the PCAOB 2024's modernization progress, which is as follows:
• Adopting a new standard to lead registered public accounting firms to improve their quality control systems significantly;
• Adopting a new auditing standard that enhances and consolidates a group of standards, adopted on an interim basis by the PCAOB in April 2003;
• Adopting amendments to certain PCAOB auditing standards to clarify auditor responsibilities in utilizing technology-assisted analysis of information in electronic form;
• Adopting a rule amendment enabling the PCAOB to hold associated persons accountable when they negligently, directly and substantially contribute to firms’ violations;
• Proposing requiring public reporting by audit firms of certain firm and engagement metrics;
• Proposing modernizing the firms’ reporting to the PCAOB of certain financial, governance and network information;
• Proposing replacing an outdated auditing standard on substantive analytical procedures;
• Proposing a new rule protecting investors from misinformation about PCAOB registration and oversight and an amendment allowing the board to deem a firm’s registration withdrawn after two straight reporting years of omitted annual reports and annual fees.