PCAOB Seeks Public Comment on Five-Year Strategic Plan for Protecting Investors

The Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB) today released a draft of its five-year strategic plan, inviting the public to comment on how the organization will pursue its mission of protecting investors from 2022 to 2026. The plan lays out an ambitious roadmap built around four goals:  

1. Modernizing standards;  

2. Enhancing inspections; 

3. Strengthening enforcement; and 

4. Improving organizational effectiveness.  

“The people we serve are top of mind in everything we do at the PCAOB, and we look forward to hearing from the public as we move forward with our ambitious plan to protect investors,” said PCAOB Chair Erica Y. Williams.  

• Comments on the draft plan must be received by September 15, 2022, and may be submitted by email to [email protected]; or by postal mail to the Office of the Secretary, PCAOB, 1666 K Street, NW, Washington, DC 20006-2803.  

• All comments are made public and posted on the PCAOB website. Commenters are encouraged, but not required, to provide their name and professional affiliation. 

Since January, the Board has taken significant actions to protect investors, including: 

• Announcing one of the most ambitious standard-setting agendas in the PCAOB’s history; 

• More than doubling the PCAOB’s average penalty against individuals and increasing the average penalty against firms by more than 65% compared to the last five years; and 

• Hiring the first-ever Investor Advocate to elevate the voice of investors and establishing two new advisory groups: the Investor Advisory Group and the Standards and Emerging Issues Advisory Group.  

Read the draft five-year strategic plan HERE.