Expose corporate fraud: Tell auditors to hold corporations accountable

Fossil fuel companies repeatedly ignore environmental laws, despite the increasing spotlight on their environmental and human rights violations.

And companies recklessly put workers in danger, violating health and safety regulations and retaliating against workers who speak out.

But they’re not caught during audits because some auditors are acting as rubber stamps for corporations and others are focusing on catching other issues that they are more explicitly required to look out for.

Fortunately, the organization in charge of regulating auditors — the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board — just introduced a proposal that requires auditors to become vigilant public watchdogs instead of passive rubber stampers.

Please send a message to the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board and support this proposal to require auditors to hold Corporate America accountable:

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Dear

Public Company Accounting

Oversight Board

Public Company Accounting

Chair Williams,

Thank you for ensuring auditors hold corporations accountable for their actions and protect investors from fraud. Undetected and detected corporate fraud causes a staggering $830 billion in equity value loss annually.

Auditors must serve as public watchdogs, ensuring transparency and integrity in financial reporting. But too often, they've enabled corporate misconduct and financial fraud instead of protecting investors and the public.

The Public Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB) must require auditors to proactively detect noncompliance with laws and regulations to minimize corporate misconduct and financial fraud. This is crucial in today's climate crisis and energy transition, where fossil fuel companies are breaking environmental laws and polluting communities.

I support the proposed guidance’s recommendations that auditors should proactively identify companies' noncompliance with laws and regulations, especially where environmental, worker safety, and social harms are rampant. Auditors can safeguard investors and communities from financial losses, worker injuries and deaths, and environmental pollution.

Too many firms engage in greenwashing, making bold promises without real action. Auditors should prevent misleading information to investors and ensure that companies' actions align with their public statements.

Auditors cannot ignore the growing risk of corporate fraud, dangerous workplaces, and environmental harm by companies. The PCAOB must finalize and strengthen these auditing standards to boost corporate accountability to protect investors and the public writ large.

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