Samantha E. Ross Named PCAOB Chief of Staff

William J. McDonough, chairman of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board, today named Samantha E. Ross as Chief of Staff for the PCAOB, effective immediately.

“Samantha is a talented lawyer with deep insights into the issues that face the accounting profession domestically as well as internationally,” Mr. McDonough said. “She is the right person to take on this responsibility at this critical time.”

Ms. Ross, 36, joined the PCAOB staff in January as special counsel to Board Member Charles D. Niemeier. Prior to joining the PCAOB staff, she was with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, where she coordinated accounting-fraud investigations as special counsel to the chief accountant of the SEC enforcement division.

"The Board is breaking new ground for the accounting profession and for investors,” Ms. Ross said. “I am honored to work with the Chairman, the Board and my colleagues as we set and enforce new standards for auditors.”

Before joining the SEC, Ms. Ross practiced law at the firm of Sullivan & Cromwell. She clerked for U.S. District Judge John E. Sprizzo of the Southern District of New York.

Ms. Ross received her bachelor’s degree from Cornell University in 1988 and her J.D. in 1992 from Duke Law School, where she was an editor of the Duke Law Journal.