PCAOB Enters Into Cooperative Agreement with Dubai

The Public Company Accounting Oversight Board today announced that it has entered into a cooperative arrangement with the Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA) for the oversight of auditors that practice in the regulators' respective jurisdictions. The two regulators plan to hold a formal signing ceremony in January.

"For many years the DFSA has been a valued partner as the PCAOB has sought to ensure effective cross-border audit oversight," said PCAOB Chairman James R. Doty. "We are pleased that this agreement will allow us to exchange confidential information, which will enhance the strong cooperative relationship that already exists," he added.

This marks the second cooperative arrangement that the PCAOB has concluded in the Middle East. The PCAOB recently signed a cooperative arrangement with the Israeli Securities Authority. In addition, earlier this month, the PCAOB announced that it had entered into a cooperative agreement with the Netherlands Authority for the Financial Markets.

The PCAOB already conducts inspections in Dubai. The agreement authorizes the PCAOB and the DFSA to exchange confidential information, consistent with the provisions of the 2010 Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act. Those provisions amended the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 to permit the PCAOB to share confidential information with its non-U.S. counterparts under certain circumstances.

"We are pleased to have concluded these arrangements with the DFSA," said Rhonda Schnare, PCAOB Director of International Affairs. "The PCAOB has long considered the DFSA's approach to cross-border regulation to be a model of cooperation, which furthers the goal of protecting investors."

The Sarbanes-Oxley Act directed the PCAOB to oversee and periodically inspect all accounting firms that regularly audit companies whose securities trade in U.S. markets. More than 900 audit firms currently registered with the PCAOB are located outside the United States, spanning 88 jurisdictions. There are eight registered firms located in Dubai.