<Table> <Tr> <Td> </Td> <Td> This article needs additional citations for verification . Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources . Unsourced material may be challenged and removed . (August 2008) (Learn how and when to remove this template message) </Td> </Tr> </Table> <Tr> <Td> </Td> <Td> This article needs additional citations for verification . Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources . Unsourced material may be challenged and removed . (August 2008) (Learn how and when to remove this template message) </Td> </Tr> <P> The Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB) is a private - sector, nonprofit corporation created by the Sarbanes--Oxley Act of 2002 to oversee the audits of public companies and other issuers in order to protect the interests of investors and further the public interest in the preparation of informative, accurate and independent audit reports . The PCAOB also oversees the audits of broker - dealers, including compliance reports filed pursuant to federal securities laws, to promote investor protection . All PCAOB rules and standards must be approved by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). </P> <P> In creating the PCAOB, the Sarbanes - Oxley Act required that auditors of U.S. public companies be subject to external and independent oversight for the first time in history . Previously, the profession was self - regulated . Congress vested the PCAOB with expanded oversight authority over the audits of brokers and dealers registered with the SEC in 2010 through the Dodd - Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act . </P>

Who appoints members to the public company accounting oversight board