PCAOB Board Member J. Robert Brown Sworn into Office Today

J. Robert Brown was sworn in today as a Board member of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board, the PCAOB announced. The ceremony took place at the Securities and Exchange Commission.

"We welcome Jay Brown to the Board of the PCAOB, and look forward to working with him," said Chairman William D. Duhnke. "His expertise in corporate governance and his experience on the PCAOB Standing Advisory Group will help inform our work to protect investors and promote audit quality."

Prior to joining the PCAOB, Board Member Brown was the Lawrence W. Treece Professor of Corporate Governance and Director of the Corporate and Commercial Law Program at the University of Denver Sturm College of Law. He taught corporate and securities law, with a focus on corporate governance.

He also authored numerous articles and books, including a textbook, and several of his articles have been cited by the U.S. Supreme Court. He served as an arbitrator for the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) and as an officer on the SEC Investor Advisory Committee.

"The PCAOB plays a critical role in ensuring integrity of the financial disclosure system and I look forward to assisting in that mission," said Board Member Brown.

The SEC has appointed two other new Board members to the PCAOB, James Kaiser and Duane DesParte, who will join the Board shortly. Feb. 1 is also the last day of service for Board Member Jeanette M. Franzel.

"I also want to thank Board Member Jeanette Franzel for her distinguished service to the Board and to investors who rely on the audits of public companies. In particular, she was instrumental in furthering the PCAOB's important outreach to audit committees, public companies, and the academic community," said Chairman Duhnke.

The PCAOB is a nonprofit corporation established by Congress to oversee the audits of public companies in order to protect investors and the public interest by promoting informative, accurate, and independent audit reports. The PCAOB also oversees the audits of brokers and dealers, including compliance reports filed pursuant to federal securities laws, to promote investor protection.