The US Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB), which has been working to establish international partnerships for the purposes of conducting joint audit inspections, has entered a cooperative arrangement with the Accounting and Auditing Institute of Spain.
The partnership will allow joint inspections in the oversight of audit firms subject to the jurisdictions of both regulators. Joint inspections will commence this year, as the agreement takes effect immediately.
The PCAOB previously established cooperative arrangements with regulators in three other EU member states—the UK, the Netherlands and Germany—in addition to Switzerland and Norway. Several non-European regulators in North America, the Middle East, Asia and Australia also cooperate with the PCAOB.
“The Spanish ICAC is a leader in bilateral and multinational efforts to improve effective cross-border supervision of auditors and audit quality,” PCAOB Director of International Affairs Bruce Wilson said in a statement. “We are pleased to work closely with them for the benefit of investors.”
—Ken Tysiac (ktysiac@aicpa.org) is a CGMA Magazine senior editor.