Bold agenda for audit oversight and standard setting at the SEC
At the AICPA’s annual conference in Washington on 8 December, Kurt Hohl, the US Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) Chief Accountant, laid out an ambitious vision for the future of audit oversight and standard setting. From reshaping the PCAOB’s inspection regime to enhancing alignment with international standards, Hohl’s remarks point to a modernised regulatory agenda grounded in global coherence and systemic quality.
A central element of the agenda is a proposed shift in Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB) toward evaluating firm-wide systems of quality management. This reflects recent global moves, including the International Auditing and Assurance Standards Board’s (IAASB) ISQM 1 and the PCAOB’s own adoption of QC 1000. Quality management, Hohl argued, is best assessed at the organisational level – supported by well-structured, digital processes and consistent, organised data reporting.
Hohl also made a powerful case for greater convergence between US and international auditing standards. He called on the PCAOB to follow the AICPA’s lead and move closer to IAASB standards; a shift that would align audit practices globally, reduce complexity for multinational filers, and support investor clarity. With most major firms already using international standards as a baseline, this would bring long-awaited harmony to the audit landscape.
Hohl extended this internationalist outlook to accounting standards, urging close collaboration between the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) and the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB). Enhanced cooperation, he noted, could accelerate standard development, reduce duplication, and ensure that investor needs are met with clarity and timeliness.
Read more at Thompson Reuters.
