Professor Sarah J. Williams publishes article on transparency in auditor regulation in University of Cincinnati Law Review

CARLISLE, Pa.—The University of Cincinnati Law Review has published Professor Sarah J. Williams' recent article, “Should We Watch the Watcher or the Watched? The Transparency Debate in Auditor Regulation.” The article continues Williams' exploration of how to regulate the accountants who audit financial statements of publicly held companies to maximize investor protection.

“Watch the Watcher or the Watched?” examines proposals by the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB) to regulate public company auditors by mandating that the auditors deliver to the PCAOB, for public disclosure, information about their internal operations. It describes the use of this form of transparency in other areas of securities regulation, analyzes the types of transparency contemplated by Congress in designing PCAOB oversight, and evaluates the potential success of the PCAOB’s proposals from an investor protection standpoint. The article concludes with alternative transparency approaches that might be more effective in improving public company audits.

This article can be found by clicking here.

Professor Sarah J. Williams is a professor of law at Penn State Dickinson Law. Her research focuses on investor protection in the area of federal securities regulation. Prior to joining Penn State Dickinson Law, Professor Williams practiced law as a securities regulator. She was deputy director at the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board and Associate General Counsel at NASD (now FINRA). She spent several years at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, serving as staff attorney and branch chief in its Division of Enforcement, then as counsel to SEC Commissioner Isaac C. Hunt, Jr. Professor Williams began her legal career as an associate attorney at Arnold & Porter in Washington, D.C.