Rep. Bill Huizenga
U.S. Rep. Bill Huizenga (R-MI) on Oct. 5 introduced legislation that would transfer the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board under federal oversight and eventually dissolve the board in efforts to reduce bureaucracy and save taxpayer dollars.
Specifically, the Streamlining Public Company Accounting Oversight Act, H.R. 5489, would move the Office of Public Company Accounting Oversight (PCAOB) under the authority of the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) Office of the Chief Accountant, according to a bill summary provided by the congressman’s office.
“The PCAOB is not an independent body. If the PCAOB is not going to operate independently, then it should be folded into the SEC,” Rep. Huizenga said. “The Streamlining Public Company Accounting Oversight Act will eliminate bureaucracy, make government more efficient by eliminating redundancy, and save money.”
If enacted, H.R. 5489 would amend the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 to establish the PCAOB at the SEC and detail its responsibilities to mirror the existing responsibilities of the PCAOB, which oversees the audits of public companies and SEC-registered brokers and dealers in order to protect investors and further the public interest in the preparation of informative, accurate, and independent audit reports.
Additionally, H.R. 5489 would dissolve the PCAOB within two years of the bill’s enactment, the summary says.
According to Rep. Huizenga’s statement, the PCAOB currently is made up of five board members earning nearly $550,000 each, with the board chairman earning $670,000. Comparatively, they are paid over three times the reported salary of the SEC chairman.
H.R. 5489 has been referred to the U.S. House Financial Services Committee for consideration.