The end of the PCAOB? Trump’s SEC nominee signals potential regulatory shift

The biggest change to public accounting in decades could be coming soon.

Paul Atkins, Trump’s nominee for SEC chairman, has advocated for eliminating the PCAOB and giving its job back to the SEC.

This move would unwind 20+ years of post-Enron audit oversight.

Mark Koziel, president of the AICPA, confirmed the association is preparing for this possibility, telling the Accountants Club of America:

We’ll work with whatever regulator we need to serve the public interest.

So what’s the public interest?

I don’t see any evidence that the PCAOB has done anything to improve audit quality.

We might be better off with the SEC handling enforcement directly.