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Abstract: 

In this article, the authors discuss the impact of recent, high-profile auditing failures on the public’s confidence in independent auditors as gatekeepers of the U.S. financial markets, and new developments in regulatory enforcement and litigation to hold auditors accountable. The authors begin by reviewing regulators’ enforcement record for audit firms in 2024. Then, the authors analyze a recent U.S. Supreme Court decision that could impact financial regulators’ ability to prosecute enforcement actions against auditors before internal tribunals. Finally, the authors discuss recent successes by investors to pursue private rights of action against auditors but highlight the legal headwinds such claimants face in the near future.

Keywords: Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (“PCAOB”); SEC v. Jarkesy; In Re Amtrust Fin. Serv; International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 98 Pension Fund v. Deloitte & Touche LLP

Affiliations:  1: Bernstein Litowitz Berger & Grossmann LLP; 2: BLBG Law; 3: BLBG Law.