Also, PCAOB plans investigation into the Big Four return to consulting.
Talking bluntly to CPAs, the chairman of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board said:
“The public has trouble discerning the difference between one audit and another. With little information about particular audits, a conventional wisdom is gradually developing that the audit is largely irrelevant to the investment process today.”
In addition, Chairman James Doty raised questions about CPA firms’ increasing involvement in consulting as a potential conflict of interest. “What will firm management do to meet the compensation and cultural challenges that destabilized Arthur Andersen?”
The move toward consulting was spotlighted in October when PwC agreed to buy management-consulting firm Booz & Co. in an effort to beef up its consulting capabilities.
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