Form 3 Reportable Events

Registered public accounting firms must report certain events in a Special Report filed no later than 30 days after the occurrence of the reportable event.

The following events must be reported on a Special Report on Form 3:

Audit Reports

  • The firm has withdrawn an audit report on an issuer's financial statements, or withdrawn its consent to the use of its name in a report, document, or written communication containing an issuer's financial statements, and the issuer has failed to comply with a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) requirement to make a report concerning the matter pursuant to Item 4.02 of Commission Form 8-K.
  • The firm has resigned, declined to stand for reappointment, or been dismissed from an audit engagement as principal auditor or an auditor upon whom the principal auditor expressed reliance regarding a significant subsidiary, and the issuer has failed to comply with a SEC  reporting requirement in Item 4.01 of SEC Form 8-K concerning the matter.
  • With respect to the 100-issuer audit report threshold that determines the frequency of Board inspections under Rule 4003, the firm has crossed to a different side of the threshold than the firm was on in the preceding calendar year.

Certain Legal Proceedings

  • The firm, or a partner, shareholder, principal, owner, member, or audit manager of the firm (in some cases limited to those who provided at least 10 hours of audit services for any issuer, broker or dealer during the firm's current or most recently completed fiscal year), has become a defendant in certain types of criminal proceedings, or any such proceeding has been concluded as to the firm or the individual.
  • The firm, or a partner, shareholder, principal, owner, member, or audit manager of the firm (in some cases limited to those who provided at least 10 hours of audit services for any issuer, broker or dealer during the firm's current or most recently completed fiscal year), has become a defendant or respondent in a government-initiated civil or alternative dispute resolution proceeding, or an administrative or disciplinary proceeding (other than a Board proceeding), arising out of conduct in the course of providing professional, audit or other accounting services, or any such proceeding has been concluded as to the firm or the individual.
  • The firm, or its parent or subsidiary, has become the subject of a petition filed in bankruptcy court or certain similar proceedings.

Certain Relationships

  • The firm has taken on individuals, become owned or partly owned by an entity, or entered into contractual or other arrangements with a person or entity subject to certain Board disciplinary sanctions, Commission orders or court-ordered injunctions.

Licenses and Certifications

  • The firm has obtained or lost authorization to engage in the business of accounting or auditing in a particular jurisdiction, or that authorization has become subject to conditions or contingencies.

Changes in the Firm or the Firm’s Board Contact Person

  • The contact information for the firm's Board contact person has changed or the firm is designating a new Board contact person.
  • The firm has changed its legal name, while otherwise remaining the same legal entity that it was before the name change.