Audit Leader Behind US Rule Revamp Defies Calls to Slow Down

Erica Williams has set a blistering pace to overhaul rules governing audits of public companies that in some cases are decades out of date.

Williams, who has been chair of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board since 2022, has led the Enron-era regulator as it has finalized five projects and moved six others through various stages of adoption. Last year alone was the board’s most active period to modernize its rule book in a decade.

Audit firms, largely unsuccessfully, have demanded more opportunities to shape pending reforms and more time to adopt to changes that guide how they audit corporate ...