“Unchecked power is dangerous.”
Should DOGE “delete” the PCAOB? In other words, should the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board be disbanded and its responsibilities returned to the SEC? And has the PCAOB had any contact with DOGE, the “Department of Government Efficiency?”
I posed these questions to Christina Ho, an Independent Board Member of the PCAOB, on the Earmark Podcast. As expected, Christina said the PCAOB hasn’t had contact with DOGE yet. That didn’t surprise me. The auditor of the auditors is probably not high on Elon Musk's priority list.
I didn’t expect Christina to express support for dismantling the PCAOB. Christina told me that she saw merits in this idea because its regulatory power needs more accountability.
Her biggest concern is that the PCAOB is a regulator that's not a federal agency. This means it wields significant power without the same congressional oversight and statutory constraints as federal agencies.
Congress created the PCAOB via the Sarbanes-Oxley Act after Enron's collapse to oversee public company audits. But unlike many other regulators, it’s structured as a non-profit — not a federal agency.
Under the PCAOB bylaws, the chair, who also runs the board, has all the power to run day-to-day operations, direct staff, and allocate resources. This differs from the corporate world, where a board oversees management.
Christina described this as granting the Chair essentially unchecked power, subject only to limited SEC oversight. (covering budget, rulemaking activities, and board appointments). This creates a unique situation where the PCAOB acts as a regulator but is, in many ways, unaccountable.
As Christina put it, "unchecked power is dangerous."
Christina also didn't hesitate to address efficiency concerns, noting that "our budget has grown 40% under this board and that is not sustainable." She expects the SEC leadership would push for greater efficiency regardless of the Department of Government Efficiency's involvement.
But don’t expect the PCAOB to go away any time soon. DOGE couldn’t do much about the PCAOB even if it wanted to. That’s because the PCAOB is a non-profit established by Congress, not a federal agency. The President (and, therefore, DOGE) has limited authority and no direct control. It would take an act of Congress to change or dissolve the PCAOB.
Listen to Episode 88 of the Earmark Podcast for our complete discussion on the PCAOB's role and audit deficiency rates.
