Public Company Accounting Oversight Board; Will it protect investors? The Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB) was created by the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002. This board was created to oversee the auditing of public companies, subject to securities laws, to protect the interests of investors (15 USC 7201, 2002). It was created following the recent financial scandals of Enron, WorldCom, and Global Crossing, to name a few. This “law” established by Congress aims to create an oversight committee, so that such scandals never happen again. Will this oversight committee work and will its work restore public confidence and encourage people to invest in the stock market again? The PCAOB is not a taxpayer-funded agency. It is supported by over 8800 companies and mutual funds that benefit from independent audits (Epstein). The main duties of PCAOB are:1. Register public accounting firms that prepare audits.2. Establish and/or adopt standards relating to the preparation of audit reports for issuers.3. Conduct inspections of registered public accounting firms.4. Conduct investigations and disciplinary proceedings.5. Promote high professional standards and improve the quality of audit services offered by registered public accounting firms.6. Enforce the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (15 USC 7201, 2002). Before the creation of Sarbanes-Oxley and the PCAOB, there was no oversight board. Public accounting firms would perform “peer reviews” to verify that audits were performed with due diligence. However, these reviews were not the highest priority, so errors/negligence committed by public accounting firms by peers were rarely discovered. It was only after the massive failures of Enron and WorldCom that this gross negligence on the part of the public accounting firm came to light. It was clear that an independent audit committee was needed to ensure that due diligence was followed when a public accounting firm audits a company. The PCAOB will annually review public accounting firms with more than 100 publicly traded audit clients. All others will be reviewed every three years. Any violation of Sarbanes-Oxley or the SEC and PCAOB can fine or exclude companies from public accounting audits (Epstein). The power to fine or exclude a public accounting firm from the profession. It is still too early to say whether the PCAOB will be effective or not. Only time will tell whether the actions of the PCAOB and public accounting firms will restore investor confidence to invest in the stock market once again. Works cited “Responsibilities in the Age of Global Markets.” The Fletcher School. February 2004: Tufts University. May 16, 2004. Calabro, Lori. “New attestation standards for internal controls put more power in the hands of auditors.” CFO magazine. May 2004: Economist.com. Lexis-Nexis. Baker University.May 16, 2004.Epstein, Jonathan. “Watchdog says accountancy firms have much to do to restore credibility.” Hoax news. April 19, 2004: Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News. Lexis-Nexis. Baker University. May 16, 2004 .Griggs, Linda L. “Audits of Internal Control over Financial Reporting: What Do They Mean?” Prentice Hall Law and Business Insights. April 29, 2004: Lexis-Nexis. Baker University. May 16, 2004 .Michaels, Adrian. “Accountants are urged to take a moral stand.” Financial times. December 19, 2004: Financial time limit. Lexis-Nexis.. 116.745