The Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB) is a nonprofit corporation created by Congress under the Sarbanes‑Oxley Act to oversee the audits of U.S. public companies and SEC‑registered broker‑dealers. Its duties include setting auditing and related professional practice standards, inspecting registered audit firms, and enforcing compliance to protect investors and improve audit quality.
The PCAOB budget pays for inspections, standard‑setting, enforcement, and other oversight work that directly affects audit quality and investor confidence; it also determines the size of the accounting support fee billed to issuers and thus affects companies’ costs and auditors’ oversight resources.
Paul S. Atkins is the Chairman of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
The PCAOB’s approved 2026 budget is $362.1 million (a roughly 9.4% decrease from the prior year). The SEC’s action approved that budget and the related accounting support fee; the PCAOB had described the budget as the resources it expects to need for carrying out its statutory responsibilities.
Under the Sarbanes‑Oxley Act the SEC reviews and must approve the PCAOB’s annual budget and the related accounting support fee; the SEC’s vote to approve the PCAOB budget is the statutory mechanism by which the Commission influences the PCAOB’s funding and fee assessments.