Joseph St. Denis Named PCAOB Director of Research and Analysis

The Public Company Accounting Oversight Board Chairman Mark W. Olson announced today that Joseph St. Denis has been named Director of Research and Analysis.

In his new position, Mr. St. Denis will oversee the Office of Research and Analysis. ORA economists and financial analysts identify and evaluate emerging audit and accounting matters that may present elevated risk of audit failure. The staff provide risk and data analysis of emerging audit practice issues, as they affect registered firms and industry sectors, in support of the Board’s work in registrations, inspections, standards, and enforcement.

“Joe St. Denis has the experience and expertise necessary to lead the Board’s research and analysis activities,” said Mark W. Olson, PCAOB Chairman. “He is a good addition to our leadership team.”

Mr. St. Denis joined the PCAOB in November 2004, and was an original staff member in the office that soon became ORA. He left briefly in 2006 to go into the private sector and returned to the PCAOB in 2007 as an Associate Director in the Division of Enforcement and Investigations.

Prior to joining the PCAOB, Mr. St. Denis served five years as an Assistant Chief Accountant in the Division of Enforcement at the Securities and Exchange Commission. He began his career at the accounting firm of Coopers and Lybrand, now part of PricewaterhouseCoopers. He later worked as the Chief of Accounting Research and Policy at Fitch Ratings for one year.

Mr. St. Denis has published widely on topics such as investigating and recognizing accounting fraud, the outlook for accounting risk, stock option accounting, and a 2004 study on International Financial Reporting Standards.

Most notably, he published a 2004 study on derivatives disclosure that was instrumental in the development of FASB Statement No. 161, Disclosures about Derivative Instruments and Hedging Activities, an amendment to FASB Statement No. 133, Accounting for Derivative Instruments and Hedging Activities.

Mr. St. Denis assumes the ORA directorship from Martin F. Baumann, who was named Chief Auditor at the PCAOB on April 14, 2009.