PCAOB Signs Pact with New German Audit Overseer

The Public Company Accounting Oversight Board has inked a cooperative agreement with the German Auditor Oversight Body, a new regulator for audit firms in Germany.

The PCAOB previously had a similar agreement with the German Auditor Oversight Commission, the predecessor to the Auditor Oversight Body. The agreement with the AOB allows a framework for joint inspections and the exchange of confidential information in accordance with German and U.S. laws. An agreement on data protection is also part of the arrangement with Germany.

“We are pleased to continue our cooperative relationship with Germany, a very important PCAOB partner in Europe," said PCAOB Chairman James R. Doty in a statement. “Investor protection across borders is strengthened by the issuance of the recent Adequacy Decision by the European Commission, and the continued collaboration among the PCAOB and its European counterparts in the oversight of global audits.”

In accordance with the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, the PCAOB oversees and inspects all accounting firms that regularly audit public companies whose securities trade on the U.S. markets. More than 900 PCAOB-registered auditing firms currently registered are located outside the U.S. in 86 jurisdictions, including 39 firms in Germany.

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