PCAOB

Erica Williams is throwing cold water on a workaround that’s been floated as a way to avoid delisting of Chinese companies from U.S. stock exchanges.

The board's chair, Erica Williams, said the PCAOB is working on updated auditing standards and stricter enforcement and inspections.

Regulators from the two countries have been locked in negotiations over granting U.S. auditor watchdogs complete and open access to the audit work papers of about 200 Chinese companies.

The PCAOB is being urged to update older standards more quickly.

The clock is ticking to avoid a 2024 deadline for kicking businesses off the NYSE and Nasdaq unless U.S. regulators get full access to inspect their audit work papers.

The board has given $19 million in awards since 2011.

U.S. and Chinese officials have been negotiating for more than two years to ensure staff from the PCAOB can access the audit papers of Chinese companies traded in the U.S. 

Progress hinges in part over the scope of redactions in audit work papers of Chinese companies.

The Public Company Accounting Oversight Board released an overview Thursday of its inspection priorities and areas of focus as the newly revamped board signals a tougher enforcement stance.

The penalty for cheating on CPA ethics exams and misleading investigators was the largest ever levied by the commission against an accounting firm.