On March 21, 2023, U.S. Senators Elizabeth Warren and Ron Wyden sent a letter to Chair of the PCAOB, Erica Y. Williams, asserting that PCAOB-registered auditors’ “sham” audits of crypto firms mislead the public and threaten the integrity of the auditing, banking, and financial systems.  This letter is a reply to Chair Williams’ February 8th response to the Senators’ January 25th letter.  In this latest letter, the Senators disputed Chair Williams’ description of certain statutory limitations on the PCAOB’s enforcement authority relating to audits of certain cryptocurrency companies.  The Senators also requested staff-level briefing on this matter by March 31, 2023 and asked that the PCAOB provide answers to certain questions, including whether the PCAOB believes that sham audits of crypto firms played a role in the collapse of Silvergate Bank, Silicon Valley Bank, or Signature Bank, by April 4, 2023.

A copy of the letter and prior correspondence are attached.