PCAOB Announces Standing Advisory Group Meeting on October 13-14, 2010

The Public Company Accounting Oversight Board announced today that the next meeting of the Standing Advisory Group (SAG) will be held on Wednesday and Thursday, Oct. 13-14, 2010.

In its third and final meeting this year, the SAG agenda includes an update to the Office of Chief Auditor’s standard-setting agenda and other developments affecting the work of the PCAOB. The SAG will also discuss potential improvements to the Board's quality control standards, as well as the PCAOB’s recently issued Report on Observations of PCAOB Inspectors Related to Audit Risk Areas Affected by the Economic Crisis (link found under "Related Information").

In addition, the SAG will continue its July 15 meeting discussion on potential challenges to auditing that may result from accounting changes to U.S. generally accepted accounting principles and International Financial Reporting Standards being considered by the Financial Accounting Standards Board and the International Accounting Standards Board. The first of two briefing papers for this meeting also is available today (under "Related Information"): FASB/IASB Projects and Potential Challenges to Auditing.

The SAG's input will also be sought on approaches to rulemaking that would complement the Board's authority to impose sanctions for supervision failures as discussed in the Board's August 5, 2010 release, Application of the "Failure to Supervise" Provision of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 and Solicitation of Comment on Rulemaking Concepts (link found under "Related Information"). An update on comments received on the Board's proposed standard on confirmation will also be presented. Finally, an overview of key provisions of the Board's recently adopted auditing standards on the assessment of, and response to, risk will be presented.

The meeting will be held at 1201 15th Street N.W., Washington, D.C. from 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Oct. 13 and from 8:30 a.m. to 12:45 p.m. on Oct.14. It is open to the public, and will be Webcast and available later by podcast.

The Board has scheduled the following SAG meetings for 2011: March 23-24, June 29, and Nov. 9-10. The agendas and meeting logistics will be announced closer to the meeting dates.

The Board convened the SAG to advise the PCAOB on the development of auditing and related professional practice standards. The SAG includes auditors, investors, public company executives, and others. The group meets two or three times a year and is chaired by PCAOB Chief Auditor and Director of Professional Standards, Martin F. Baumann.