PCAOB and Singapore Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority Confirm Cooperative Regulatory Arrangements

The Public Company Accounting Oversight Board is pleased to announce that the PCAOB and the Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority in Singapore ("ACRA") have, through an exchange of letters, mutually confirmed their intention to cooperate in the oversight of audit firms that fall within the jurisdiction of both the PCAOB and the ACRA.

The arrangement is the latest in a series of cooperative arrangements that the PCAOB has established with non-U.S. regulators in recent years. PCAOB Chairman Mark Olson stated, "The PCAOB can best achieve its mission in today’s global markets through close cooperation with other auditor regulators. The PCAOB looks forward to working closely with the ACRA in supervising effectively and efficiently the audit firms subject to the jurisdiction of both regulators."

Rhonda Schnare, PCAOB Director of International Affairs, added, “We are pleased to reach this milestone with the ACRA, an important partner in the region and in the global capital markets. In light of the number of non-U.S. firms registered with the PCAOB, cooperative relationships like this one are critical to the PCAOB’s success in its oversight mission."

Under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, accounting firms that audit U.S. public companies, or play a substantial role in another firm's audit of those companies, must register with the PCAOB and comply with PCAOB requirements in connection with those audits. Currently, there are more than 850 non-U.S. firms from 86 jurisdictions registered with the PCAOB, including 20 firms located in Singapore.