The Public Company Accounting Oversight Board has been restructuring a number of its offices in recent months under its
The closure of the office is one of a number of reorganizations where the duties, responsibilities and staff will be reassigned to other divisions and offices at the PCAOB for reasons of efficiency. Other recent changes include the Office of Enterprise Risk Management moving within the office of the Chief Operating Officer, and the Ethics Office being reassigned from the Office of Enterprise Risk Management to report directly to the board. As a result, the PCAOB has begun posting job openings for both a chief risk officer and a chief ethics officer. The realignment of the Office of the Investor Advocate is the latest example of that restructuring.
"As part of the PCAOB's ongoing work to efficiently execute its mission, the PCAOB decided to realign the Office of the Investor Advocate under the Office of Communications and Engagement as it was originally established," a PCAOB spokesperson told Accounting Today. "This is consistent with other recent decisions to update the structure of other PCAOB offices and functions. This change will strengthen and streamline the PCAOB's ability to incorporate investor perspectives into external engagement, strategic communications and other stakeholder-facing activities. The realignment will also allow for a more direct role for the office of the chairman and board members to work with investors directly, elevating their interactions. The chairman will be taking more of a hands-on approach to communications and engagement across all stakeholders, including investors. From an organizational standpoint, this structure will promote greater consistency, reduce duplication and strengthen execution across the PCAOB's engagement efforts."
PCAOB chair Logothetis will be more directly involved in investor outreach efforts as a result of the changes, which will be happening over the next few weeks. the SEC has been urging the board to engage more regularly with investors, and the PCAOB plans to continue to operate its existing Investor Advisory Group.
