Board to Hold Forum in San Antonio on Auditing in the Small Business Environment

The Public Company Accounting Oversight Board will host a forum in San Antonio, Texas, to help bring important information concerning the PCAOB to the small business community. The Forum on Auditing in the Small Business Environment is a program for registered accounting firms and public companies in the small business community to learn more about the work of the Board, specifically the PCAOB inspections process and the impact of new auditing standards.

The forum will be held at the Marriott Plaza Hotel in San Antonio on Tuesday, May 2, and Wednesday, May 3, 2006. The two-day program will be hosted by Board Member Charles D. Niemeier and staff from the offices of inspections, enforcement and standards-setting.

The May 2 session will focus on educating smaller registered accounting firms about the Board’s work. Attendees have the opportunity to earn continuing professional education credits. This session will feature a representative from a small registered public accounting firm that has gone through a PCAOB inspection. The May 3 session will concentrate on PCAOB issues impacting audit committees at smaller public companies. This session will feature an internal controls specialist from a local accounting firm and a CFO from a public company that has undergone the process of complying with Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act.

Invited participants are auditors from smaller registered public accounting firms and directors and financial executives ofs smaller public companies. The program is limited to those groups in the small business environment that are most directly impacted by the Board’s oversight responsibilities. The goal of such a format is to ensure that there is ample opportunity for discussion of PCAOB issues facing small business communities between representatives of this sector and Board members and its staff.
In addition to San Antonio, the Board plans to hold five more forums in Seattle, Boston, Philadelphia, New York City and Chicago.

While there is no fee charged to participants for these events, pre-registration is required.

More information, is available at www.pcaobus.org under "News and Events". Questions regarding any of the forums may be directed to Julie Mills at (202) 207-9061 or by email.