The One-Person Audit Firm Is Coming
Last year, audit fees rose less than 2%. The Financial Times credits AI. I think they’re right. And I think the fee slowdown is the first visible crack in a much bigger shift. The old pricing playbook came with easy excuses like tighter regulation and too few CPAs to go around. When clients have to buy your product and your competitors can’t hire enough people to undercut you, a price increase is an easy way to grow margins. That playbook just stopped working.
The $400 Million Question: Should Congress Eliminate the PCAOB?
The One Big Beautiful Bill Act eliminates the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board. Is this good for the accounting profession? The PCAOB costs $400 million a year. Is it worth it? In this episode of the Earmark Podcast, I seek answers to these questions from three of the nation's leading accounting academics.
"I was accused of lying": PCAOB's Christina Ho on standing up to Senator Warren
In my recent conversation with Christina Ho on the Earmark podcast, she shared her experience as the first PCAOB Board Member to publicly dissent on a proposal and the surprising backlash that followed.
Should the PCAOB be disbanded? A board member's surprising take
Should DOGE “delete” the PCAOB? In other words, should the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board be disbanded and its responsibilities returned to the SEC? And has the PCAOB had any contact with DOGE, the “Department of Governmental Efficiency?”
How PCAOB inspections favor big accounting firms and burden smaller ones
Did you know smaller audit firms face PCAOB inspections at a higher rate than the Big Four? I didn’t. I learned that in my recent Earmark Podcast conversation with Christina Ho, a PCAOB Board Member appointed in 2021.
Is the PCAOB's 46% audit deficiency rate misleading investors?
What if the numbers we use to measure audit quality are fundamentally flawed? PCAOB Board Member Christina Ho reveals why the headline-grabbing 46% deficiency rate in public company audits deserves serious scrutiny.
Why fines don't deter auditor misconduct
A small audit firm with only one CPA on the website takes on a multi-billion dollar client. The client turns out to be a fraud. And the auditor? They face a measly $65,000 fine, less than the fees they earned from the audit. It's a true story that David and I shared on The Accounting Podcast. And it's just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the lack of accountability in the auditing profession.