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| Center for Audit Quality | |
|---|---|
| Name | Center for Audit Quality |
| Formation | 2007 |
| Type | Nonprofit organization |
| Headquarters | Washington, D.C. |
| Region served | United States |
| Purpose | Enhance audit profession quality and investor confidence |
| Leader title | CEO |
| Leader name | Isabel Benstead |
| Parent organization | American Institute of Certified Public Accountants |
Center for Audit Quality The Center for Audit Quality is a Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit organization focused on enhancing audit quality and investor confidence across the financial markets. It engages with regulators, standards setters, and market participants such as the Securities and Exchange Commission, Public Company Accounting Oversight Board, Financial Accounting Standards Board, International Auditing and Assurance Standards Board, and major accounting firms including Deloitte, PricewaterhouseCoopers, Ernst & Young, and KPMG. The organization operates at the intersection of audit practice, corporate governance, and securities regulation, liaising with institutions like the U.S. Department of the Treasury, Congress of the United States, Federal Reserve System, and Investor Advisory Committee stakeholders.
The organization serves as a forum for the auditing profession, uniting practitioners from firms such as BDO International, Grant Thornton, RSM International, and regional firms alongside corporate audit committees drawn from companies like General Electric, Ford Motor Company, ExxonMobil, Apple Inc., and Microsoft. It provides guidance that complements standards set by bodies including the International Federation of Accountants, American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, and the Institute of Internal Auditors. The center engages with market overseers such as the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Public Company Accounting Oversight Board, and Securities and Exchange Commission to advance audit quality, professional ethics, and investor protection while collaborating with academic institutions like Harvard Business School, Wharton School, and Stanford Graduate School of Business.
Founded in 2007, the organization emerged amid high-profile corporate failures and legislative responses including the Sarbanes–Oxley Act of 2002 and oversight developments involving the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board. Early stakeholders included the largest accounting networks—Arthur Andersen predecessors and current firms like PricewaterhouseCoopers—and it was formed to respond to congressional inquiries from committees such as the United States Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs and the House Financial Services Committee. The center's establishment paralleled initiatives by the Financial Stability Board and the International Organization of Securities Commissions to strengthen audit oversight globally.
Governance is provided by a board composed of partners and leaders from member firms, audit committee chairs from corporations such as The Coca-Cola Company and Procter & Gamble, and representatives from professional bodies like the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and the Institute of Internal Auditors. Chief executives and senior staff have included leaders with backgrounds in firms like KPMG and roles within regulatory agencies such as the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Department of Justice. The governance model aligns with practices recommended by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development and engages with oversight entities including the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board.
Programs cover auditor education, audit committee resources, and industry roundtables with participants from NASDAQ, New York Stock Exchange, Cboe Global Markets, and institutional investors such as BlackRock, Vanguard Group, and State Street Corporation. Initiatives include continuing professional education consistent with American Institute of Certified Public Accountants requirements, cybersecurity and data analytics guidance reflecting standards from the National Institute of Standards and Technology, and diversity efforts in line with directives from organizations like Catalyst and the National Association of State Boards of Accountancy. The center also runs events with participants from Bloomberg, Reuters, and academic partners such as Columbia Business School.
The center advocates on issues including audit standard-setting, inspection regimes, and corporate reporting reforms, engaging with policymakers at the Securities and Exchange Commission, members of the United States Congress, and international counterparts like the European Securities and Markets Authority and the International Organization of Securities Commissions. It provides comment letters and testimony regarding proposals from the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board, the Financial Accounting Standards Board, and legislative initiatives affecting audit firm rotation, auditor independence, and enhanced disclosures. The organization interacts with investor groups including the Council of Institutional Investors and professional associations such as the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners.
The center publishes research, white papers, and toolkits addressing audit quality indicators, auditor reporting, and emerging risks such as technology-driven audit approaches with insights from MIT, Carnegie Mellon University, and University of Pennsylvania. Publications examine topics referenced by the Financial Accounting Standards Board, International Auditing and Assurance Standards Board, and regulators like the Securities and Exchange Commission. Reports are cited by auditing firms including Deloitte, Ernst & Young, and PricewaterhouseCoopers, and used by audit committees at firms like Johnson & Johnson and Intel Corporation.
Membership comprises accounting firms, audit committees, and professional organizations including American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, Institute of Internal Auditors, National Association of State Boards of Accountancy, and international networks such as IFAC. Strategic partnerships extend to academia—Harvard Law School, Yale School of Management—and market infrastructure entities like the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority and New York Stock Exchange. The center coordinates with investor groups including BlackRock, Vanguard Group, and CalPERS to align audit quality objectives with investor protection priorities.
Category:Accounting organizations Category:Non-profit organizations based in Washington, D.C.