Trust battle will go on and on, says PCAOB

Accountants' battle to win back public trust after the spate of recent financial scandals may never be won, Public Company Accounting Oversight Board chairman William McDonough said today.

Speaking at a Financial Executives International conference in New York, he said the mission to restore and maintain public trust and confidence was ongoing.

'It is not a project which can ever be considered "finished." You must maintain your focus on that goal, and the PCAOB must continue to play its role in keeping that goal front and centre,' he said.

McDonough admitted that after two PCAOB inspection cycles, identifying and rooting out all the causes of recent auditing failures and the risk of future ones was not realistic.

McDonough also pledged to work with international regulators to ensure high standards across the world.

As of this week, the PCAOB has registered more than 1,586 firms, including 640 non-US firms.