Disciplinary action rules proposed for accountants and accounting firms. (Announcements).The federal bank and thrift regulatory agencies regulatory agency Independent government commission charged by the legislature with setting and enforcing standards for specific industries in the private sector. The concept was invented by the U.S. on December 17, 2002, invited public comment on proposed rules governing their authority to take disciplinary actions against independent public accountants and accounting firms that perform audit and attestation services required by section 36 of the Federal Deposit Insurance Act. The proposed rules would establish procedures under which the agencies could, for good cause, remove, suspend, or bar an accountant 6r firm from performing audit and attestation services for insured depository institutions with assets of $500 million or more. They would permit immediate suspensions in limited circumstances. Under the proposed rules, violations of law, certain negligent conduct, reckless violations of professional standards or lack of qualifications to perform auditing services would be considered good cause to remove, suspend, or bar an accountant or firm from providing services for such an insured institution. Also, under the proposed rules, an accountant or accounting firm may not perform audit services as prescribed under section 36 if the accountant or firm has been removed, suspended, or debarred by one of the agencies, or if the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board The Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (or PCAOB) (sometimes called "Peekaboo") is a private-sector, non-profit corporation created by the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, a 2002 United States federal law, to oversee the auditors of public companies. , the Securities and Exchange Commission, or a state licensing authority takes certain disciplinary actions against the accountant or firm. The proposed rules are being issued by the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System The managing body of the Federal Reserve System, which sets policies on bank practices and the money supply. , the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), an independent U.S. federal executive agency designed to promote public confidence in banks and to provide insurance coverage for bank deposits up to $100,000. , the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (or OCC) was established by the National Currency Act of 1863 and serves to charter, regulate, and supervise all national banks and the federal branches and agencies of foreign banks in the United States. , and the Office of Thrift Supervision The Office of Thrift Supervision (OTS) was established as a bureau of the Treasury Department in August 1989 as part of a major Reorganization Plan of the thrift regulatory structure mandated by the Financial Institutions Reform, Recovery, and Enforcement Act of 1989 (FIRREA) (12 U.S.C.A. . Although they would amend each agency's rules of practice separately, they would have uniform application for each agency. Comments are due sixty days after publication in the Federal Register. |
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