SEC Official Behind 1,000 Restatements Has Unusual Title: Acting

Paul Munter has been acting chief accountant to the SEC for the past year, but that temporary post hasn’t stopped him from pursuing arguably the most aggressive agenda in decades of U.S. corporate accounting and auditing oversight—leaving an enduring mark on financial reporting.

Munter so far has provided the first concrete guidance on how to account for digital assets and pushed for investor-focused accounting standards. He warned audit firms about threats to their independence. And barely three months into the job, he issued accounting guidance for special purpose acquisition companies that ground the SPAC boom to a halt.

“He had ...