To require auditor independence standards of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board and the Securities and Exchange Commission applicable to past audits of a company occurring before it was a public company to treat an auditor as independent if the auditor meets established professional standards, and for other purposes.

Bill: 118-hr-2606
Sponsor: full_name: Rep. McHenry, Patrick T. [R-NC-10]
Introduced: 2023-04-13
Policy area: Finance and Financial Sector
Latest action: action_date: 2023-04-13
text: Referred to the House Committee on Financial Services.

Summaries:
action_date: 2023-04-13
action_desc: Introduced in House
text: <p>This bill modifies the auditor independence standards required by the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board and the Securities and Exchange Commission. Specifically, an issuer that is a public company or has filed to become a public company must comply with certain auditor independence standards regarding audits that occurred in the fiscal year prior to the company going public.</p>

tv_txt: I 118th CONGRESS 1st Session H. R. 2606 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES April 13, 2023 Mr. McHenry introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Financial Services A BILL To require auditor independence standards of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board and the Securities and Exchange Commission applicable to past audits of a company occurring before it was a public company to treat an auditor as independent if the auditor meets established professional standards, and for other purposes.

1. Auditor independence for certain past audits occurring before an issuer is a public company (a) Auditor independence standards of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board Section 103 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 ( 15 U.S.C. 7213 ) is amended by adding at the end the following: (e) Auditor independence for certain past audits occurring before an issuer is a public company With respect to an issuer that is a public company or an issuer that has filed a registration statement to become a public company, the auditor independence rules established by the Board with respect to audits occurring before the last fiscal year of the issuer completed before the issuer filed a registration statement to become a public company shall treat an auditor as independent if— (1) the auditor is independent under standards established by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants applicable to certified public accountants in United States; or (2) with respect to a foreign issuer, the auditor is independent under comparable standards applicable to certified public accountants in the issuer’s home country. . (b) Auditor independence standards of the Securities and Exchange Commission Section 10A of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 ( 15 U.S.C. 78j–1 ) is amended by adding at the end the following: (n) Auditor independence for certain past audits occurring before an issuer is a public company With respect to an issuer that is a public company or an issuer that has filed a registration statement to become a public company, the auditor independence rules established by the Commission under the securities laws with respect to audits occurring before the last fiscal year of the issuer completed before the issuer filed a registration statement to become a public company shall treat an auditor as independent if— (1) the auditor is independent under standards established by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants applicable to certified public accountants in United States; or (2) with respect to a foreign issuer, the auditor is independent under comparable standards applicable to certified public accountants in the issuer’s home country. .