PCAOB

Business & Finance abbreviation · Accounting

PCAOB stands for Public Company Accounting Oversight Board, an accounting abbreviation.

Nonprofit corporation created by the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 to oversee the audits of public companies and SEC-registered broker-dealers in the United States. It registers and inspects audit firms, sets auditing standards and can discipline firms and individual auditors.

Example: The PCAOB inspection report identified deficiencies in the firm's testing of revenue controls.

Usage notes

Often pronounced "peek-a-boo." It replaced the profession's self-regulation after the accounting scandals at Enron and WorldCom. The SEC appoints its five board members and approves its rules and budget. Before the PCAOB, auditing standards for public companies were set by the AICPA.

Related abbreviations

More accounting abbreviations

• NI – Net income
• NRV – Net realizable value
• OCI – Other comprehensive income
• P&L – Profit and loss statement
• PAT – Profit after tax
• PBT – Profit before tax
• PO – Purchase order
• PP&E – Property, plant and equipment
• PPA – Purchase price allocation
• PY – Prior year
• Q1 – First quarter
• Q2 – Second quarter

See all 95 accounting abbreviations →

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