White House Proposes Consolidating PCAOB into SEC
In its recently released budget blueprint, the White House proposes consolidating the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB) into the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) by 2022.
The budget states folding the responsibilities of the PCAOB into the SEC would save up to $580 million by 2030. However, it is unable to calculate the impact on audit firms at this time. The budget also details the reasoning behind the request, including the reduction of regulatory ambiguity and duplicative statutory authorities.
Traditionally the White House budget blueprint is rejected by Congress, but it is thought the request may play a role in future negotiations of the budget, particularly after the 2020 elections if control of either the White House or Congress changes.
The PCAOB was established by the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 to inspect auditing firms and set auditing standards and is currently supervised by the SEC.
For more information, view the White House budget proposal.