PCAOB makes firm consultation process

The Public Company Accounting Oversight Board today established a firm consultation process to help provide firms with more timely and consistent guidance.

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The firm consultation process will be led by the PCAOB’s Office of the Chief Auditor. It will allow registered public accounting firms to submit questions directly to OCA staff and receive informal staff views on the implementation and application of new and existing standards.

“Delivering clear guidance is essential to the PCAOB’s efforts to drive further improvement in audit quality,” PCAOB chairman Demetrios Logothetis said in a statement. “This staff-led consultation process is designed to help firms implement new standards and apply our standards more consistently, which will ultimately fulfill the PCAOB’s mission to protect investors.”  

Firms can request a consultation with the OCA on the interpretation of PCAOB auditing, attestation and quality control standards and related rules and forms, as well as standards and rules on ethics and independence.  

The OCA does not plan to make consultation requests public, but it may publish guidance for frequently asked questions.