Audit Watchdog’s Record Questioned Years After Enron Collapse
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In 2002, Congress sought to make sure publicly traded companies couldn’t deceive investors the way Enron Corp. did. So it created a watchdog to monitor the accountants that audit the corporations and gave it a gawky name: the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board.
In eight years the board has brought 32 disciplinary cases, only one of which was against one of the so-called big four accounting firms. It has also approved six standards governing how auditors must do their work. Eight others adopted in August await Securities and Exchange Commission sign-off.