Daniel L. Goelzer was named acting chairman of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board and will take office August 1.

Daniel L. Goelzer

Goelzer, who has been a member of the board for six years, will succeed Mark Olson, who announced last month that he was resigning (see PCAOB Chairman Olson Resigns).

Goelzer was one of the original members of the PCAOB, which was created by the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 to protect the interests of investors through its oversight of firms that audit public companies. He is currently serving his second term, and in 2007, the SEC unanimously reappointed him to serve an additional term of five years.

“It is an honor to be named to serve as acting chairman,” he said in a statement. “The PCAOB was created at a time of economic crisis and high-profile corporate accounting fraud. Since then, much has changed, and the PCAOB’s rigorous schedule of inspections has gone a long way to improve audits of financial statements.”

Goelzer acknowledged, however, that, “Stresses on financial reporting in the current economic environment remain, and the need for strong regulatory auditor oversight continues.” The PCAOB plans to meet Tuesday to discuss proposed standards for engagement quality review and a requirement for an engagement partner to sign off on audit reports. Goelzer hopes to make progress on such issues, as well as on the controversial matter of inspecting foreign accounting firms that audit companies whose stock trades in the U.S. Last month, the PCAOB decided to delay its inspections of foreign firms for up to three years (see PCAOB Decides to Delay Foreign Firm Inspections).

Goelzer thanked his predecessor for his service. “I also want to thank Mark Olson for the strong leadership and insight he has provided during his tenure,” he said. “I hope to build upon his efforts and the work of the other board members as we move forward.”