Critics Hope for Investor-led Agenda After Audit Board Shakeup

Just four years after a major shakeup of the board charged with overseeing audit standards, the little-known U.S. regulator is being overhauled again with the abrupt firing of its chairman and the looming possible replacement of the entire board.

The Securities and Exchange Commission’s removal of Bill Duhnke as chair of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board late Friday gives his critics hope for what they believe would be a more investor-focused agenda that would hold auditors accountable and deliver accurate financial reporting from the largest companies in the U.S.

“The PCAOB has an opportunity to live up to Congress’s ...