TheCorporateCounsel.net

In September, Liz shared that the PCAOB adopted amendments to certain provisions of QC 1000, A Firm’s System of Quality Control, after convening an open meeting in June on this topic. At the time, Liz noted that the amendments remained subject to SEC approval. The SEC has now granted that approval in an order issued yesterday.

QC 1000 was approved by the SEC back in September 2024, and the effective date of the new standard was postponed last August to December 15, 2026. These latest amendments (which Liz summarized when they were adopted by the PCAOB) did not change that effective date. The order states that the amendments will also be effective on December 15, 2026.

Under the Amendments, the first period for firms’ evaluation of their QC systems will cover the period beginning on the effective date of QC 1000 (i.e., December 15, 2026) and ending on the firm’s selected evaluation date, subject to a five-month minimum period of operation before a firm is first required to evaluate its QC system. Subsequent evaluation periods will cover the 12-month period ending on the firm’s selected evaluation date.

– Meredith Ervine