PCAOB to Form Smaller Firm Resource Group to Advise Staff

May 23, 2025

As the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB) focuses on the implementation of new standards and rules adopted in the past couple of years, including new quality control (QC) standards, Chair Erica Williams announced that the board will set up a Smaller Firm Resource Group comprised of smaller firm representatives to advise the staff.

“This group will help us to stay informed about smaller firms’ experiences with respect to applying PCAOB auditing and related professional practice standards and inspections, and related activities, as well as economic considerations,” Williams said during a meeting of the PCAOB’s Standards and Emerging Issues Advisory Group (SEIAG) in Washington on May 22, 2025.

“This resource group will provide us with another communication channel to receive such feedback, so that we can take it into consideration as we advance our oversight activities, including working to advance audit quality at smaller firms,” she said.

In the meantime, PCAOB Chief Auditor Barbara Vanich did not announce any new projects during the SEIAG meeting, as expected. At this juncture, it’s unlikely that a new project will be introduced, considering the numerous items already on the regulatory agenda.

Typically, the Office of the Chief Auditor provides an update on the standard-setting and research agendas twice a year, usually in May and November.

Vanich merely said that the staff is continuing to make progress on projects that are both on the board’s short-term and mid-term agendas, including inventory, auditor reporting in specified circumstances, and substantive analytical procedures.

“In addition to standard-setting projects…, much of the focus … has been on the implementation of new standards,” Vanich said. “Since the last meeting [of SEIAG] in November, we’ve devoted significant time to assisting firms with implementing QC 1000 in particular.”

The PCAOB has been reaching out to firms, publishing implementation materials, including guidance and videos, among other efforts.

“Updated standards don’t improve the quality of audits alone unless they’re complied with, and so this is why we continue to work” on implementation, she said.

However, the staff’s extra focus on implementation also comes amid the change in leadership at the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), which oversees the board. President Trump’s appointee to run the SEC, Paul Atkins, is expected to take a sharp turn on the regulatory road, reversing many of the rules put in place when Gary Gensler was chair during the Biden administration. Atkins is expected to scale back many of the SEC’s rules that companies find burdensome.

Exactly what Atkins wants with the PCAOB is unclear as he has served as chief of the SEC only for one month. Moreover, as of May 22 early afternoon, he has yet to announce his staff, let alone name division heads.

But both Atkins and Williams told Thomson Reuters they have met.

On May 19, when asked about any regulatory priorities he has discussed with her, he responded: “We didn’t really talk substances.”

Likewise, Williams on May 22 said that they “had a very good introductory meeting.”

“We are ready to share the expertise and really excellent work of the PCAOB staff, and I look forward to continuing conversations with him,” Williams said, adding that they did not get into any specific details but “look forward to continuing our conversations.”

[Thomson Reuters]