PCAOB puts non-US proposals out for comment
The US Public Company Accounting Oversight Board has voted unanimously to put out for public comment its proposed rules relating to the inspection and investigation of non-US audit firms.
Link: PCAOB demands accounting fees
At a meeting yesterday in Washington DC the board also agreed to extend the registration deadline for non-US firms by a further 90 days. Auditors who now work for clients with a listing in the US now have until 19 July 2004 to register with the board.
The proposals allow for a degree of co-operation between the board and the oversight bodies of other nations, following massive opposition to the extra-territorial effects of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act from the European Union.
The board has acknowledged these concerns and has proposed relying on the oversight systems of other nations where those systems are sufficiently independent and rigorous. It is hoped the UK firms would be affected very little by the rules, due to the strong oversight it possesses.
