RAY TO LEAVE PCAOBWashington, D.C. - The Public Company Accounting Oversight Board's chief auditor and director of professional standards, Thomas Ray, has resigned to return to the private sector.
Ray joined as deputy chief auditor in June 2003 soon after the board commenced operations. He played a key role in establishing the PCAOB's Office of the Chief Auditor, and in February 2006, he was appointed chief auditor. Ray oversaw the development of all of the auditing standards developed, proposed and adopted by the board, and was instrumental in designing the board's auditing standards to implement Section 404 of Sarbanes-Oxley.
Another auditing standard project in which he played a key role was the development of the suite of seven proposed new standards related to the auditor's assessment of and response to risk in an audit. He was also actively involved in the development of the board's ethics and independence rules, and documents such as staff audit practice alerts.
PCAOB deputy director Jennifer Rand will serve as acting chief auditor until a permanent appointment is made.
PWC UNVEILS $700K IFRS GRANT
New York - Big Four firm PricewaterhouseCoopers has awarded $700,000 in grants to 26 colleges and universities to accelerate their respective curricula on International Financial Reporting Standards.
PwC said that the grants were part of an overall $1 million commitment to support IFRS education. The grants will be used toward:
* Updating primary instruction materials used in a two-semester intermediate course;
* Transforming course syllabi and textbooks to include IFRS; and,
* Enhancing the focus on international business and accounting issues across the entire curriculum.
In addition to the grants, PwC is also providing educational material directly to students and faculty through a suite of Web-based videos and tools available at www.pwc.tv.
GILLAN NAMED SEC SENIOR ADVISOR
Washington, D.C. - The Securities and Exchange Commission has appointed former Public Company Accounting Oversight Board member Kayla Gillan as senior advisor to new commission chair Mary Schapiro, effective immediately.
Gillan was a founding board member of the PCAOB, where she served from 2003 to 2008. In her new role, she will spearhead various projects, including the creation of an Investor Advisory Council.
