PCAOB Registration Rules Now Effective With SEC Approval

The Public Company Accounting Oversight Board announced that its registration rules for public accounting firms became effective today with the approval of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

"This is a seminal event for the PCAOB” said Board Chairman William J. McDonough. “Registration is the underpinning of the Board’s duties to oversee and inspect public accounting firms, as well as the Board’s duty to enforce the auditing standards that will help restore public confidence in financial reporting.”

The SEC’s order approving the registration rules is available on the SEC’s Web site www.sec.gov, under Regulatory Actions.

Under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 and the Board’s rules, U.S. public accounting firms must be registered with the Board by Oct. 22, 2003, to continue preparing or issuing audit reports on U.S. public companies or to play a substantial role in such audits.

More information on the PCAOB registration system will be available shortly at www.pcaobus.org.