After four years of record "penalties," will Trump close the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB) in the United States?

Recently, the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB) in the United States is facing the biggest survival threat since the Enron accounting scandal in 2002. With Trump set to return to the White House, critics see the possibility of shutting down the agency.

On Wednesday, senior figures in the U.S. accounting community and political observers stated that the threat facing the PCAOB is greater than at any time since its establishment following the Enron audit scandal over twenty years ago.

After experiencing four years of record fines and new regulations, U.S. accounting firms are calling for the PCAOB to change direction. There are complaints within the industry that under the leadership of current chair Erica Williams, the agency has failed to treat the industry fairly.

It is worth mentioning that the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB) is a nonprofit organization established under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, aimed at overseeing the audits of publicly traded companies in the United States. The PCAOB also oversees the audits of broker-dealers, including compliance reports submitted under federal securities laws, to promote investor protection.

Analysts believe that the Trump administration may appoint officials who support deregulation, changing the regulatory direction of the PCAOB.

Trump has not yet selected a nominee for the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), but both of the last two SEC chairs cleared the leadership of the PCAOB upon taking office, a practice that may be repeated next year. Republicans may hold a majority in both houses of Congress, increasing the political pressure on the PCAOB.

During Trump's first term, Republicans proposed legislation to merge the PCAOB into the SEC to save about $64 million in annual expenses.

Former SEC Chief Accountant Lynn Turner stated:

The bill has been drafted, it is ready to go, merging this agency into the regulatory body means "you have to cut the salaries of these employees, and employees will leave." This would destroy the PCAOB, and they know it. In 24 months, it will no longer exist.

However, while the industry seeks to change the rules, they do not want drastic fluctuations in regulatory policy, but rather hope for more balance. Julie Bell Lindsay, CEO of the Center for Audit Quality representing large accounting firms, called for the PCAOB to urgently change direction, criticizing the agency for its lack of data-driven analysis in recent years