Board to Set New Registration Deadline for Non-U.S. Firms, Standard for Audits of Internal Control

The Public Company Accounting Oversight Board will consider a final vote on changing the registration deadline for non-U.S. accounting firms at the open meeting scheduled for 9 a.m. Tuesday, March 9. At the same meeting, the Board will vote on an auditing standard for audits of internal control over financial reporting, as well as two other matters.

As previously announced, the meeting will be held in the East Room of the Mayflower Hotel, 1127 Connecticut Avenue N.W., in Washington, DC.

The proposed agenda for the meeting is as follows:

• Adoption of an auditing standard for internal control over financial reporting. The auditing standard, “An Audit of Internal Control Over Financial Reporting Performed in Conjunction with an Audit of Financial Statements,” addresses both the work that is required to audit internal control over financial reporting and the relationship of that audit to the audit of the financial statements.
• Proposal of an auditing standard conforming the Board’s existing interim standards to the standard for an audit of internal control.
• Adoption of a rule to change the deadline for registration of non-U.S. accounting firms. The Board’s existing rule requires non-U.S. auditors of U.S. public companies to be registered with the Board by April 19, 2004. The Board will consider whether to adopt its previously proposed rule to require registration of non-U.S. firms by July 19, 2004. The Board proposed this rule on Dec. 9, 2003, as part of a package of rules addressing the Board’s oversight of non-U.S. firms. The other proposed rules remain under consideration.
• Adoption of certain bylaw amendments.

The meeting is open to the public and will be webcast at www.pcaobus.org.