On May 8, 2025, a former Chairman and five former Board Members of the PCAOB wrote to the Chairmen and Ranking Members of the Committee on the Budget and the Committee on Financial Services of the U.S. House of Representatives expressing their concerns about the impact on the U.S. capital markets of Section 50002 of Concurrent Resolution 14 on the Budget for Fiscal Year 2025 (“bill”), which would eliminate the PCAOB and transfer its functions to the SEC.

 

The letter describes three of their main concerns: (1) transferring the PCAOB’s functions to the SEC would weaken auditor oversight and damage U.S. capital markets; (2) the bill would significantly increase the exposure of U.S. investors to the risk of foreign financial reporting fraud; and (3) the PCAOB receives no federal funding, but the bill would shift the cost of auditor oversight to taxpayers. The letter closes with a reminder that, in the years leading up to the creation of the PCAOB, the markets experienced a loss in confidence in auditing with significant consequences for investors, public companies, and the general public.

 

A copy of the letter is attached here.