SEC rules on audit board registration.

All U.S. accounting firms that audit public companies must register with the PCAOB by Oct. 22 if they want to continue preparing or issuing audit reports.

Foreign accounting firms that audit public companies are also subject to the registration, but have an extra six months to do so.

To register with the PCAOB, visit www.pcaobus.org/pcaob_registration.asp.

Additionally, the PCAOB has set registration fees, which are tiered according to the number of issuer clients a firm performed audits for in the preceding fiscal year.

The fees will be as follows:

* Firms with no issuer clients in the preceding year: $250;

* Firms with up to 49 issuer clients: $500;

* Firms with 50-100 issuer clients: $3,000;

* Firms with 101-1,000 issuer clients: $29,000; and

* Firms with 1,001 issuer clients and up: $390,000.