Representatives from the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board meet with its Japanese, Korean and Chinese counterparts last week, as well as accepting an invitation to become a member of the newly-formed International Forum of Independent Audit Regulators.Chairman Mark Olson and board member Charles Niemeier participated in a meeting of the forum in Tokyo, where they discussed ways to foster cooperation between regulators responsible for the oversight of public company auditors. They also met privately with the PCAOB’s counterpart in Japan, the Certified Public Accountants and Auditing Oversight Board and the Japanese Financial Services Agency.
As part of the trip, Olson and Niemeier also met in Seoul with the Korean Financial Supervisory Commission and the Korean Financial Supervisory Service, and Niemeier traveled alone to Beijing to discuss developments in auditor oversight with the P.R. China Ministry of Finance and the China Securities Regulatory Commission.
Olson said that the board is looking forward to sharing ideas and experiences with members of the forum, and said that while bilateral relationships are important, a multilateral forum is vital.
Earlier this month, Olson discussed a number of cooperative measures the board is pursuing with the European Commission, and said that the PCAOB is considering further policy guidance regarding its reliance on non-U.S. regulators.
