William McDonough, chairman of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board, cautioned auditors not to expect lawmakers to cap liability claims until they have won back public confidence.
McDonough, who announced that he will step down from his post November 30, told the Financial Times that he didn't think Americans "would support legislative remediation of the auditor's risk until the audit profession has really won back the confidence of the public. Then and only then could it happen."
Since the massive accounting frauds at Enron and WorldCom, auditors both domestically and abroad have been trying to place a cap on liability in the event of large class-action suits.
McDonough, who has been at the helm of the auditing regulator since 2003, opined that the auditing has improved since the creation of the PCAOB, but it remains "a work in progress."
