PCAOB rule update wave begins with confirmation standard

Audit tech

The Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB) announced the adoption of a new standard regarding auditor use of confirmation that replaces the previous version that hadn’t been notably changed in more than 30 years.

The new standard, finalized Thursday, overwrites AS 2310, “The Confirmation Process,” which was issued by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants in 1991 and adopted on an interim basis by the PCAOB as the agency was taking form in 2003. The standard “will better protect investors by strengthening procedures that enhance an auditor’s ability to identify fraud in certain circumstances and improving overall audit quality,” the agency said in a press release.

PCAOB Chair Erica Williams celebrated the adoption as the first standard-setting project undertaken by the current board to progress from proposal to conclusion. The PCAOB has put forward other proposals in recent months as part of a larger push to modernize its regulatory approach.

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