Both the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the US Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB) reported increased enforcement activity in 2023 in areas related to accounting misstatements, deficient controls, misleading disclosures, and auditor obligations. As this level of enforcement related to accounting and auditing issues is expected to continue, reviewing 2023 enforcement activity is key to gaining insight into the SEC’s and PCAOB’s priorities going forward.
SEC enforcement
On November 14, 2023, the SEC announced its enforcement results for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2023 (FY 2023).[1] The SEC filed 784 enforcement actions during FY 2023, a 3% increase over the previous fiscal year.[2]
According to the SEC’s FY 2023 enforcement statistics, 107 of these 784 enforcement actions, or 13.6%, were classified by the SEC as “Issuer Reporting/Audit & Accounting.”[3] These 107 actions represent a 17% increase over the 91 enforcement actions classified by the SEC as “Issuer Reporting/Audit & Accounting” for FY 2022.[4]
We take a closer look at selected enforcement actions against accounting and auditing firms and public companies and their executives.
