Two Senators introduced a bill that would make disciplinary proceedings of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board open to the public.
According to the lawmakers, the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 made the PCAOB proceedings confidential through charging, hearings, initial decision, and appeal. Unfortunately, the secretive nature of the process enables firms that engage in misconduct to drag out the proceedings for years while the investing public is kept in the dark. The new bill would make the PCAOB proceedings available to the public, similar to proceedings before other regulators such as the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Openness is a good thing, hopefully, this legislation might see the light of day.
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