The Public Company Accounting Oversight Board has entered into an agreement with the Financial Supervisory Commission of Taiwan to cooperate on oversight of auditors who practice in either the U.S. or Taiwan.
The U.S. has been seeking cooperative agreements with other countries in Asia Pacific, notably in China. While it has not yet struck a deal with Chinese authorities, it has carried out joint inspections with regulators in other Asian and Pacific countries, including South Korea, Singapore and Australia. In addition, the PCAOB has been conducting regular inspections of PCAOB-registered firms in coordination with regulators in Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand and New Zealand. The PCAOB has also been doing inspections of firms in Taiwan for several years, but the new agreement will allow it to work more closely together with Taiwanese officials.
“Although we have been doing inspections of Taiwan-based audit firms since 2007, this agreement with Taiwan's FSC is important to strengthening our ties with the FSC so that we may work more closely together,” said PCAOB Chairman James R. Doty in a statement. “We are pleased to have reached this achievement with a partner in this important region.”
The Sarbanes-Oxley Act directed the PCAOB to oversee and periodically inspect all accounting firms that regularly audit companies whose securities trade in U.S. markets. More than 900 audit firms currently registered with the PCAOB are located outside the United States, spanning 88 jurisdictions. Currently, 12 registered firms are located in Taiwan.
