Public Company Accounting Oversight Board Registration Relief Expired December 31, 2008
FINRA is issuing this Notice to remind firms that the SEC's December 12, 2006, Order1 permitting non-public broker-dealer firms to have their balance sheet and income statements audited by independent public accounting firms not registered with the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB) expired December 31, 2008.
Firms whose fiscal year ends December 31, 2008, or earlier may continue to rely on the December 12, 2006, SEC Order to conduct the 2008 annual financial audit of their income statement and balance sheet. Their fiscal year 2009 and subsequent audits must, however, be conducted by a PCAOB-registered accounting firm.
Firms whose fiscal year ends after December 31, 2008, must comply with the section of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 that requires that their financial statements be audited by a PCAOB-registered accounting firm.
A small number of firms have fiscal years that end in January or February but do not have PCAOB-registered accountants. FINRA will contact these firms to ensure timely compliance with the requirement to have an audit conducted by a PCAOB-registered audit firm in light of the limited time available to obtain a PCAOB-registered accountant.
Questions concerning this Notice should be directed to Chip Jones, Vice President, Member Relations, at (240) 386-4797; or Susan DeMando, Associate Vice President, Financial Operations, at (202) 728-8411.
1 Exchange Act Release No. 54920, 71 FR 75779 (December 18, 2006).