The PCAOB announced yesterday that Chair Erica Williams will depart on July 22. SEC Chair Paul Atkins also issued a statement and thanked her for her service. The PCAOB press release described Chair Williams’ tenure:

Williams was originally sworn in as PCAOB Chair in January of 2022. She was reappointed in June 2024 and sworn in on October 24, 2024. Under her leadership, the PCAOB developed and executed an ambitious strategic plan to modernize standards, enhance inspections, strengthen enforcement, and improve the PCAOB’s organizational effectiveness. The PCAOB’s accomplishments under Williams’ tenure include:

Securing complete access to inspect and investigate firms headquartered in China for the first time in history and bringing record enforcement actions against China-based firms.

Launching a concentrated effort to improve audit quality that helped lead to significant improvements in deficiency rates across audit firms.

Increasing transparency in inspection reports and getting those reports out nearly a year sooner so that investors, audit committees, and others have access to valuable information more quickly.

Taking more formal actions to modernize standards and rules than any Board since the PCAOB was created, finalizing seven projects, covering 24 rules and standards.

Delivering record-setting sanctions, sending a clear message that there will be strong consequences for anyone who puts investors at risk.

Partnering with staff to make the PCAOB a better place to work, leading to a 30-percentage point increase in the number of PCAOB staff who say they would recommend the PCAOB as a great place to work.

Reimagining stakeholder outreach, reconstituting the Investor Advisory Group and the Standards and Emerging Issues Advisory Group and creating the first-ever standalone Office of the Investor Advocate.

Awarding the highest amount of merit-based scholarships to accounting students in PCAOB history.

The fate of the PCAOB has been unclear for the last few months — starting with speculation that the PCAOB’s powers would be scaled back under the new administration and subsequent attempts by Congress to eliminate it completely — and remains so, even though elimination of the PCAOB didn’t end up in the final budget reconciliation bill.

– Meredith Ervine