PCAOB Approves 2016 Budget and 2015-2019 Strategic Plan

The Public Company Accounting Oversight Board today approved its 2016 fiscal-year budget of approximately $257.7 million and its 2015-2019 strategic plan.

The 2016 budget is $6.8 million, or 2.7 percent, more than the Board's 2015 budget of $250.9 million. The strategic plan serves as the foundation for the budget and guides the PCAOB's programs and operations.

"This strategic plan reflects continuation of important work and initiatives begun under previous plans," said PCAOB Chairman James R. Doty. "This updated plan and the 2016 budget together will allow us to redouble our efforts on a number of key strategies to achieve our mission."

The budget assumes that the PCAOB will reach a 2016 year-end projected total of 876 staff. The Division of Registration and Inspections accounts for 530 of this total, and the Division of Enforcement and Investigations accounts for 65 positions.

The total accounting support fee for 2016 is $253.3 million, with approximately $220.9 million allocated to public companies and $32.4 million to broker-dealers.

As of November 20, 2015, there were 2,107 public accounting firms registered with the PCAOB, including 901 based outside the United States and 572 that conduct audits of brokers or dealers.

The PCAOB budget is subject to Securities and Exchange Commission approval.

A summary of the 2016 budget and strategic plan will be available on the PCAOB website once the budget is submitted to the SEC.