PCAOB and SEC Appointments Take Effect

Before the close of 2017, the Securities and Exchange Commission announced the appointments of William D. Duhnke III as chairman and J. Robert Brown, Kathleen M. Hamm, James G. Kaiser, and Duane M. DesParte as board members of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (“PCAOB”). Such appointments were effective earlier this year.

The PCAOB oversees the audits of public companies and broker-dealers in order to protect the interests of investors and further the public interest in the preparation of informative, accurate, and independent audit reports. The PCAOB accomplishes these goals through registering public accounting firms, setting auditing standards, conducting inspections, and pursuing disciplinary actions. The PCAOB is subject to oversight by the SEC.

SEC Chief Accountant Wes Bricker said, “We look forward to working with these new board members in connection with furthering the PCAOB’s central mission. The new Board members are well-qualified to lead the PCAOB as it carries out its critical role in promoting investor protection and strengthening audit quality.”

SEC Chairman Jay Clayton noted that the prior board achieved a great deal on behalf of investors and the public, including, most recently, the adoption of a new auditor’s reporting model which should provide investors with meaningful additional insight into auditor-audit committee communications.

William D. Duhnke III, Chairman is currently the staff director and general counsel to the U.S. Senate Committee on Rules and Administration. He previously served as staff director and general counsel to the U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs and the Committee on Appropriations. Mr. Duhnke also served in the U.S. Navy and the Commission on the Assignment of Women in the Armed Forces. He received a J.D. from Catholic University and a B.A. from the University of Wisconsin.

J. Robert Brown is currently a professor of law at the University of Denver, where he is director of the Corporate and Commercial Law program and is the Lawrence W. Treece Professor of Corporate Governance. He also served on the staff of the SEC and worked in private practice. He has a Ph.D. and M.A. from Georgetown University, a J.D. from the University of Maryland, and a B.A. from the College of William and Mary.

Kathleen M. Hamm is currently the global leader of securities and fintech solutions and senior strategic advisor on cyber solutions at Promontory Financial Group. She previously worked at the U.S. Department of the Treasury, the American Stock Exchange, and the SEC. She received a LL.M from Georgetown University, a J.D. from Duke University, and a B.S. from the State University of New York at Buffalo.

James G. Kaiser was a partner and the global assurance methodology & transformation leader at PricewaterhouseCoopers (“PwC”), where he led the firm’s efforts to drive innovation in auditing and had responsibility for the firm’s adherence to international auditing standards. He had been with PwC for 38 years and held numerous leadership roles with the firm. He received an MBA from the University of Pennsylvania and a B.S. from St. Joseph’s University.

Duane M. DesParte will soon retire as senior vice president and corporate controller of Exelon Corporation, where he has been employed for the past 14 years. He previously was an audit partner at Deloitte & Touche and, prior to that, Arthur Andersen. He received his B.S. in Accountancy from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign-College of Business.

“Bill, Jay, Kathleen, Jim, and Duane bring substantial experience to the board and a shared commitment to serve in the interests of our Main Street investors,” SEC Chairman Jay Clayton said. “Their individual and collective talents position the PCAOB to execute its mission effectively in our local, national, and international markets.”

SEC Has Five Commissioners for the First Time Since 2015

For the first time since 2015, the Securities and Exchange Commission has a full complement of five commissioners, following Senate confirmation of Democratic appointee Mr. Robert Jackson and Republican appointee Ms. Hester Peirce on December 21, 2017.

Commissioner Jackson comes to the SEC from NYU School of Law, where he was a professor of law. He previously was professor of law and director of the Program on Corporate Law and Policy at Columbia Law School. He also has served as an adviser at the Treasury Department and in the Office of the Special Master for TARP Executive Compensation. Commissioner Jackson earned his BA from the University of Pennsylvania, a BS and MBA in Finance from Wharton, an MPP from Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government, and his JD from Harvard Law School.

Commissioner Peirce comes to the SEC from the Mercatus Center at George Mason University where she served as a senior research fellow and director of the Financial Markets Working Group. She previously worked for U.S. Senator Richard Shelby on the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, and, prior to that, as counsel to then-SEC Commissioner Paul S. Atkins and as a staff attorney in the Division of Investment Management. Commissioner Peirce earned her BA in economics from Case Western Reserve University and her JD from Yale Law School.

Commissioner Jackson fills a term that expires on June 5, 2019, and Commissioner Peirce fills a term that expires on June 5, 2020.

The other members of the commission are Mr. Jay Clayton (Chairman), Ms. Kara Stein, and Mr. Michael Piwowar, whose terms expire in 2021, 2017, and 2018 respectively. Commissioners may serve up to 18 months beyond the expiration of their term.

References

https://www.sec.gov/news/press-release/2018-5
https://www.sec.gov/biography/commissioner-hester-m-peirce
https://www.sec.gov/biography/commissioner-robert-j-jackson
https://www.sec.gov/Article/about-commissioners.html
https://pcaobus.org/News/Releases/Pages/PCAOB-Duhnke-and-Hamm-Sworn-in-Today.aspx
https://www.sec.gov/news/press-release/2017-230