Washington (Dec. 4, 2002) - The new accounting oversight board is eager to launch its own inspections of accounting firms in 2003, which may or may not include input from the American Institute of CPAs or other parties.
The independent board, which was mandated by the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, met privately Monday, and later told reporters that it plans on increasing the number of firms scrutinized in 2003.
"We want 2003 to have more and better investigations than 2002," board member Kayla Gillan said.
A formal meeting to organize the board and its staff is set for the week of Jan. 6. Board members said they still haven't decided whether the board will use its own staff to launch firm inspections or rely on outside agents, like the AICPA.
AICPA spokesman Joel Allegretti said the institute's role at the meeting was to provide background on the SEC Practice Section. "It didn't have anything to do with professional standards like the Washington Post reported," he said. "All they did was ask us, how does this (SECPS) work."
-- Tracey Miller-Segarra
