The SEC has approved a tighter 2026 budget for the PCAOB, cutting the board’s funding by 9.4% to $362 million and reducing the accounting support fee paid by public companies and broker-dealers by 18.4%.

CFO Dive reports that the decision also sharply lowers compensation for the PCAOB’s chair and board members, bringing pay more in line with federal public service levels.

SEC Chair Paul Atkins emphasized that the PCAOB’s role remains important even as regulators reassess their approach. “Both during my time as a commissioner and now as chairman, I have recognized—and continue to recognize—the importance of driving improvements in audit quality,” Atkins said, while also noting the need to ensure oversight does not impose excessive burdens on businesses. 

Created in the wake of the Enron and WorldCom collapses, the PCAOB has faced renewed political pressure as the Trump administration pursues deregulation and lower federal spending.

Although proposals to dissolve the board were removed from last year’s budget legislation, critics warn that budget cuts could weaken its effectiveness. 

Francine McKenna, an adjunct professor at Montclair State University and author of the newsletter The Dig, predicted the reductions will be felt most acutely in enforcement. “Enforcement is what’s really going to be squeezed,” she said, adding that the changes signal a diluted regulatory posture even as the board continues operating.