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The Wall Street Journal

Audit Watchdog Created After Enron Might Be Dismantled. Its Defenders Duel With GOP.

Former audit regulators, academics and investors say oversight would diminish if the PCAOB is folded into the SEC, while the plan’s supporters tout the capabilities of the securities regulatory agency

By Mark Maurer
Rep. French Hill, Public Company Accounting Oversight Board Chair Erica Williams and Securities and Exchange Commission Chair Paul Atkins.
Rep. French Hill, Public Company Accounting Oversight Board Chair Erica Williams and Securities and Exchange Commission Chair Paul Atkins. Illustration: Thomas R. Lechleiter/WSJ, Alyssa Schukar/ WSJ Reuters, Zuma Press, Shutterstock

Former audit regulators, academics and investors are making a push to fight the proposed elimination of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board, which a Republican-led Congress could vote to approve as part of the broader tax bill now under consideration.

Congress created the PCAOB in 2002 to boost financial oversight in the wake of the Enron and WorldCom accounting scandals. But its fate now hangs in the balance as GOP lawmakers target a July 4 bill signing by President Trump.

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