The PCAOB also replaces the Auditing Standards Board (ASB) in setting auditing standards.
The contrast between the two boards also presents a classic trade-off between independence and expertise.
While the majority of the PCAOB members cannot be CPAs, ASB members were primarily CPAs.
The PCAOB’s first substantive standards (AS2 and AS3) led to a significant increase in reporting lags by forbidding the “rollforward” of information from prior audits.
This lag resulted in an increase in unaudited earnings announcements, which were subsequently revised