06 June 2008

US Treasury: Auditing Advisory Panel asks for more audit firm disclosures

The PCAOB should require auditing firms to make more disclosures, the ACAP recommended. The proposal mirrors the EU’s Eighth Directive which governs the auditing profession in EU member nations.

The PCAOB should require auditing firms to make more disclosures on their ownership structures, practices on independence and governance, audit clients, fee structures, and partner remuneration, the Treasury Department's Advisory Committee on the Auditing Profession (ACAP) recommended at a June 3, 2008, meeting in Washington, DC.

 

The proposal is to be added to a draft version of the ACAP's final report and mirrors the EU’s Eighth Directive, which governs the auditing profession in EU member nations. The most recent recommendation comes as the ACAP nears the end of its mandate to issue recommendations to Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson by July.

 

With the ACAP approaching the end of its one-year charter, the panel members and witnesses who debated the issues at the June 3 meeting took on some of the stickier issues for the profession, including liability protection and transparency.

 

"Most audit committee members are concerned about the increased liability they may have as board members of public companies," said John Biggs, Chairman of Boeing Co.'s audit committee and the former Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Teachers Insurance and Annuity Association-College Retirement Equities Fund (TIAA-CREF).

 

He said auditing and accounting firms should release their financial statements if they hope to limit their own liability.

 

Official document (incomplete)

Draft report addendum

More information

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