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Yesterday, the SEC announced that Paul Munter has been appointed as the agency’s Chief Accountant. He has previously served as the SEC’s Acting Chief Accountant since January 2021.

Paul Munter joined the SEC in 2019 as Deputy Chief Accountant, leading the international work of the Office of Chief Accountant. Before joining the agency, he was a senior instructor of accounting at the University of Colorado Boulder. He had previously retired from KPMG, where he served as the lead technical partner for the U.S. firm’s international accounting and IFRS activities and served on the firm’s panel responsible for establishing firm positions on the application of IFRS.

During Munter’s time as Acting Chief Accountant, he delivered a number of notable speeches, some of which we have covered in The Corporate Counsel, including:

– The Auditor’s Responsibility for Fraud Detection
– Audit Quality and Investor Protection under the Holding Foreign Companies Accountable Act
– Auditor Independence and Ethical Responsibilities: Critical Points to Consider When Contemplating an Audit Firm Restructuring
– The Critical Importance of the General Standard of Auditor Independence and an Ethical Culture for the Accounting Profession
– Assessing Materiality: Focusing on the Reasonable Investor When Evaluating Errors
– Statement on the FASB’s Agenda Consultation: Engagement with Investors and Other Stakeholders Vital to Development of High Quality Accounting Standards
– Statement on OCA’s Continued Focus on High Quality Financial Reporting in a Complex Environment
– The Importance of High Quality Independent Audits and Effective Audit Committee Oversight to High Quality Financial Reporting to Investors
– Staff Statement on Accounting and Reporting Considerations for Warrants Issued by Special Purpose Acquisition Companies (“SPACs”)
– Financial Reporting and Auditing Considerations of Companies Merging with SPACs

– Dave Lynn