Embattled Audit Board Pushes for Greater Dialogue with Industry

The US audit board, facing a closure threat in Congress, invited auditors Monday to reach out to staff on practice issues ranging from fixing inspection violations to preparing for new firm governance rules to enforcement.

“Starting the dialogue early and often is critical,” Kathleen McGovern, chief litigation counsel for the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board’s enforcement division, told auditors and their lawyers at an American Law Institute conference on Monday. “It’s just better for everybody.”

A House budget measure would sunset the PCAOB and its funding source, reassigning auditor oversight to the Securities and Exchange Commission. The board’s possible ...