The following new rule, Form QC, Report on the Evaluation of the Firm’s System of Quality Control, has been approved by the Securities and Exchange Commission. The new rule will be effective on December 15, 2025.

Form QC - Report on the Evaluation of the Firm’s System of Quality Control

• General Instructions
• Part I - Identity of the Firm
• Part II - Evaluation of the Firm's System of Quality Control
• Part III - Individual(s) Responsible for the System of Quality Control; Certification
• Part IV - Request for Notification
• Part V - Certification of Firms
• Part VI - Amendments
• Part VII - Exhibits

GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS

1. Submission of this Report.  A registered public accounting firm that is required to perform an evaluation of its QC system under paragraph .77 of QC 1000, A Firm’s System of Quality Control, must use this Form to file with the Board the report on quality control required by QC 1000 and Rule 2203A and to file any amendments to Form QC. Unless otherwise directed by the Board, the Firm must file this Form, and all exhibits to this Form, electronically with the Board through the Board’s Web-based system.
2. Defined Terms.  The definitions in the Board’s rules and in QC 1000 apply to this Form. Italicized terms in the instructions to this Form are defined in the Board’s rules or QC 1000, as the case may be. In addition, as used in the instructions to this Form, the term “the Firm” means the registered public accounting firm that is filing this Form with the Board.
3. When Report is Due and Considered Filed.  Reports on this Form are required to be filed each year on or before November 30. A Form QC is considered filed when the Firm has submitted to the Board a Form QC in accordance with Rule 2203A that includes the signed certifications required in Parts III and V of Form QC.
4. Period Covered by this Report. The reporting period, which the Firm should enter in Item 2.1, is the period beginning on October 1 of the year preceding the year in which Form QC is required to be filed (or, if a firm's obligation to implement and operate a QC system arises under QC 1000.07a. after October 1 of that year, the date on which that obligation arises), and ending September 30 of the year Form QC is required to be filed.
5. Amendments to this Report.  Amendments shall not be filed to update information in a filed Form QC that was correct at the time the Form was filed, but only to correct information that was incorrect at the time the Form was filed or to provide information that was omitted from the Form and was required to be provided at the time the Form was filed. When filing a Form QC to amend an earlier filed Form QC, the Firm must supply not only the corrected or supplemental information, but also must include in the amended Form QC all information and certifications that were required to be included in the original Form QC. The Firm may access the originally filed Form QC through the Board’s Web-based system and make the appropriate amendments without needing to re-enter all other information.

Note: The Board will designate an amendment to a Form QC as a report on “Form QC/A.”

6. Rules Governing this Report.  In addition to these instructions, the rules in Part 2 of Section 2 of the Board rules govern this Form. Read these rules and the instructions carefully before completing this Form.
7. Language.  Information submitted as part of this Form, including any exhibit to this Form, must be in the English language.

PART I  –  IDENTITY OF THE FIRM

Item 1.1     Name of the Firm

State the legal name of the Firm.

PART II  –  EVALUATION OF THE FIRM’S SYSTEM OF QUALITY CONTROL

Item 2.1     Evaluation Date and Reporting Period

1. State the evaluation date of this report; and
2. State the reporting period covered by this report.

Item 2.2     Overall Conclusion on the Effectiveness

Indicate, by checking the applicable box, the Firm’s conclusion on whether, as of the evaluation date, the Firm’s QC system:

1. Is effective with no unremediated QC deficiencies; or
2. Is effective except for one or more unremediated QC deficiencies that are not major QC deficiencies; or
3. Is not effective (one or more major QC deficiencies exists).

Item 2.3     Reporting on Unremediated QC Deficiencies

If the Firm reports a conclusion under Item 2.2b. or Item 2.2c. provide the number of unremediated QC deficiencies:

Item 2.4     Reporting on an Unremediated QC Deficiency

If the Firm reports a conclusion under Item 2.2b. or Item 2.2c., for each unremediated QC deficiency in Item 2.3:

1. Provide a description of the unremediated QC deficiency.
2. Indicate by checking the box whether the unremediated QC deficiency is:
1. A major QC deficiency
2. Not a major QC deficiency
3. Indicate, by checking all boxes that apply, the area(s) the unremediated QC deficiency relates to:
   1. Roles and responsibilities
   2. The firm’s risk assessment process
   3. Governance and leadership
   4. Ethics and independence
   5. Acceptance and continuance of engagements
   6. Engagement performance
   7. Resources
   8. Information and communication
   9. Monitoring and remediation process
   10. Evaluation of and reporting on the QC system
   11. Documentation
4. Furnish, as a correspondingly numbered item in Exhibit 2.4, the following:
   1. The quality objective(s), or requirement(s) of QC 1000, to which the unremediated QC deficiency relates.
   2. The Firm’s basis for determining it was a QC deficiency as of the evaluation date.
   3. A summary of the remedial actions taken and planned to be taken to address the QC deficiency, as well as the timing and the status of such actions, including a summary of the actions taken and to be taken by the Firm to address the risk that the QC deficiency resulted or could result in the issuance of unsupported opinions.

Item 2.5     Reporting on a Presumed Major QC Deficiency

If a major QC deficiency is presumed to exist, as described in QC 1000.78, but the determination was made that there is no major QC deficiency, furnish, as Exhibit 2.5, a narrative describing the Firm’s determination pursuant to the Note to paragraph .78a.

PART III  –  INDIVIDUAL(S) RESPONSIBLE FOR THE SYSTEM OF QUALITY CONTROL; CERTIFICATION

Item 3.1     Identity of Individual(s) Responsible and Accountable for the System of Quality Control

State the name of the individual(s) assigned:

1. Ultimate responsibility and accountability for the Firm’s QC system as a whole.
2. Operational responsibility and accountability for the QC system as a whole.
3. Operational responsibility for compliance with ethics and independence requirements.
4. Operational responsibility for monitoring and remediation.

Item 3.2     Certification of the Report on the Evaluation of the Firm’s QC System

Furnish, as Exhibits 3.2.a and 3.2.b, respectively, statements signed by each of the individuals identified in Item 3.1.a and 3.1.b in the following form:

I, [identify the certifying individual], who have been assigned [ultimate/operational] responsibility and accountability for [Firm]’s quality control system (QC system) as a whole, certify that:

1. I have reviewed this report on Form QC on the evaluation of [Firm]’s quality control system (QC system) as of September 30, [year];
2. Based on my knowledge, the disclosures made in Part II of this form are complete and accurate in all material respects; and
3. [The Firm’s other certifying officer(s) and] I [are/am] responsible and accountable for [Firm]’s QC system as a whole and have:
1. Designed, or caused to be designed under [my/our] supervision, the Firm’s QC system to ensure that it meets the reasonable assurance objective specified in QC 1000, A Firm’s System of Quality Control;
2. Evaluated the effectiveness of the Firm’s QC system and presented in this report [my/our] conclusions about the effectiveness of the QC system as of September 30, [year]; and
3. Disclosed, based on such evaluation, all unremediated QC deficiencies (as defined in QC 1000) of which I am aware.

Date:

[Signature]

[Title]

Note 1: Other than the insertion of the Firm name and the name and role of the signing individual, Exhibits 3.2.a and 3.2.b must be in the exact words contained in this instruction.

Note 2: If more than one individual is identified in Item 3.1.a, Exhibit 3.2.a must be signed by each such individual. If the same individual is identified in Items 3.1.a and 3.1.b, he or she may sign a single certificate indicating both capacities.

Note 3: Exhibits 3.2.a and 3.2.b may be provided in a form (e.g., pdf) that shows a manual signature, or may be signed and retained in the same manner as provided in Rule 2204.

PART IV  –  REQUEST FOR NOTIFICATION

Item 4.1     Request for Notification

Indicate, by checking the box below, whether the Firm requests the Board to notify the Firm in the event that the Board is requested by subpoena or other legal process to disclose information on the Firm’s Form QC. The Board will make reasonable attempts to honor such request.

___ Yes

___ No

PART V  –  CERTIFICATION OF THE FIRM

Item 5.1     Signature of Partner or Authorized Officer

This Form must be signed on behalf of the Firm by an authorized partner or officer of the Firm including, in accordance with Rule 2204, both a signature that appears in typed form within the electronic submission and a corresponding manual signature retained by the Firm. The signer must certify that –

1. the signer is authorized to sign this Form on behalf of the Firm;
2. the signer has reviewed this Form;
3. based on the signer’s knowledge, this Form does not contain any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact necessary to make the statements made, in light of the circumstances under which such statements were made, not misleading; and
4. based on the signer’s knowledge, the Firm has not failed to include in this Form any information or affirmation that is required by the instructions to this Form.

The signature must be accompanied by the signer’s title, the capacity in which the signer signed the Form, the date of signature, and the signer’s business mailing address, business telephone number, and business email address.

PART VI  –  AMENDMENTS

Item 6.1     Amendments

If this is an amendment to a report previously filed with the Board -

1. Indicate, by checking the box corresponding to this item, that this is an amendment.
2. Identify the specific Item numbers of this Form (other than this Item 6.1) as to which the Firm’s response has changed from that provided in the most recent Form QC or amended Form QC filed by the Firm with respect to the reporting period.

PART VII  –  EXHIBITS

To the extent applicable under the foregoing instructions or the Board’s rules, each Form QC must be accompanied by the following exhibits:

Note: Where an exhibit consists of more than one document, each document must be numbered consecutively (e.g., Exhibit 3.2.a.1, Exhibit 3.2.a.2, etc.), and the Firm must provide a list of the title or description of each document comprising the exhibit.

[Effective pursuant to SEC Release No. 34-100968, File No. PCAOB-2024-02 (September 9, 2024)]