PCAOB chief auditor to depart

Chief auditor Barbara Vanich is set to depart the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board on July 15, after 17 years.

The PCAOB is beginning a search to fill the role and will solicit applications from candidates soon.

Vanich joined the PCAOB in 2009, and she served there in several roles, including associate chief auditor, special advisor to a board member, deputy chief auditor and acting chief auditor. She was named chief auditor in October 2022.

Gary D. Newlen

"I have greatly valued Barb's expert advice — her accomplishments at the PCAOB have been extraordinary," PCAOB chairman Demetrios Logothetis said in a statement. "We thank her for her leadership and dedication, and we wish her well as she embarks on a new professional opportunity." 

During Vanich's tenure as chief auditor, she oversaw the adoption of several new standards, including QC 1000, A Firm's System of Quality Control, which will become effective Dec. 15, 2026. She also oversaw the development of other major standard-setting projects, the creation of resources to help audit firms implement those new standards, the launch of an auditor fellowship program, the PCAOB's first-ever request for comment on future focus areas for standard setting, and the creation of a firm consultation process.

"It has been an honor to advance the PCAOB's investor-protection mission, together with my talented colleagues in the Office of the Chief Auditor and so many others across the PCAOB," Vanich said in a statement.