Statement on Commencement of Appointment Process for the 2019-2024 PCAOB Board Seat

The Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (“PCAOB”) is one of the centerpieces of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 (“SOX”). SOX provides that the PCAOB is governed by a Board of five members — two of whom must be certified public accountants, and three of whom must not be — serving for staggered five-year terms.

In December 2017, Kathleen M. Hamm was appointed to the PCAOB Board and is serving in the 2014-2019 term. That term expires in October 2019. Ms. Hamm is eligible for reappointment to the 2019-2024 term. The appointment process used by the Commission in 2017 will be followed to select the Board Member for the 2019-2024 term. This process is administered by the Office of the Chief Accountant and is described on the Commission’s website at the Office of the Chief Accountant’s website page at: https://www.sec.gov/financial-reporting-structure. Individuals interested in being considered for this position should notify the Office of the Chief Accountant in the manner described below.

SOX requires that PCAOB Board members be “appointed from among prominent individuals of integrity and reputation who have a demonstrated commitment to the interests of investors and the public, and an understanding of the responsibilities for and nature of the financial disclosures required of issuers, brokers, and dealers under the securities laws and the obligations of accountants with respect to the preparation and issuance of audit reports with respect to such disclosures.” Due to the current composition of the Board and the requirement that three members of the Board not be CPAs, it is expected that the candidate selected for the 2019-2024 term will not be a CPA.

Individuals meeting the statutory criteria who would like to be considered for a Board seat should submit the following to Board-recommendations@sec.gov by July 15, 2019: (1) a cover letter, discussing the statutory qualifications listed above; and (2) a current résumé or curriculum vitae.