The Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB) voted unanimously on July 20, 2026, to seek public comment on its proposed strategic plan for 2026-2030.
The strategic plan has six goals and 17 objectives:
- Goal 1: modernize standard setting and implementation
- Objective 1.1: establish a framework for high-quality standard setting
- Objective 1.2: support effective implementation and post-implementation evaluation
- Objective 1.3: foster alignment with international standards
- Objective 1.4: advance responsive, risk-based standard-setting priorities
- Goal 2: modernize the inspections and registration programs
- Objective 2.1: focus inspections on firms’ systems of quality control
- Objective 2.2: improve inspection report clarity and timeliness
- Objective 2.3: revise evaluation and reporting of remediation determinations
- Objective 2.4: establish a permanent broker-dealer auditor inspection program
- Objective 2.5: assess and enhance the firm registration process
- Goal 3: sharpen enforcement focus on conduct harmful to investors
- Objective 3.1: focus enforcement on significant risks to investors and market integrity
- Objective 3.2: clarify enforcement principles and priorities and strengthen SEC coordination
- Goal 4: deepen stakeholder engagement and communications
- Objective 4.1 strengthen stakeholder engagement to inform oversight priorities and communications
- Objective 4.2: improve organizational transparency and accountability
- Goal 5: modernize oversight through technology and data
- Objective 5.1: enable data-driven, risk-based oversight capabilities
- Objective 5.2: develop internal technology, data and artificial intelligence capabilities
- Goal 6: strengthen organizational effectiveness and stewardship
- Objective 6.1: advance organizational effectiveness through disciplined investment
- Objective 6.2: strengthen mission-critical organizational culture and workforce capabilities
The draft goals and objectives were largely based on feedback, including 71 comment letters the board has received in response to a March 31 request for comment on seven broad questions regarding the PCAOB’s strategic priorities.
There were five general themes expressed in the comment letters: technology and AI, with clear guidance on the practical use of technology and audit; Quality Control 1000 implementation and inspections grounded in the firm’s systems of quality control; inspection program modernization with a more risk-based, timely, and consistent inspection approach; more close international alignment; and greater stakeholder engagement.
PCAOB Chairman Demetrios Logothetis said that the five-year plan is organized around three reinforcing priorities:
- Advance Audit Quality and Investor Protection
- Clarify Expectations and Our Bases for Decisions Leading to Understandable Outcomes
- Transform How Oversight Is Delivered
“These priorities, ‘Advance, Clarify, and Transform’ or ‘A-C-T’, reflect the core responsibilities of a modern regulator and the realities of today’s capital markets. Together, they provide the organizing framework for our strategic goals and objectives,” he said. “Taken together, these priorities, goals, and objectives will ultimately form a unified approach that strengthens our investor-protection mission and guides our work across the organization.”
He borrowed the A-C-T framework from SEC Chairman Paul Atkins comprised of three pillars to guide the regulator’s work.
As the capital markets regulator, the SEC oversees the board. PCAOB board members are appointed by the SEC, and board standards and annual budget must be approved by the commission before they become effective.
“Receiving stakeholder feedback at this stage will help ensure that our final 2026–2030 Strategic Plan is both ambitious and practical — one that advances audit quality, enhances transparency, and positions the PCAOB to meet the opportunities and challenges of a rapidly evolving environment not only over the next five years, but well into the future,” Logothetis added.
Guidance on AI
Richard Chambers, an executive adviser at Optro, said the big takeaway for him is that audit firms want regulators to provide clearer guidance on responsible AI use, rather than slow down its development.
He noted that “AI is already finding its way into audit workflows, so the practical questions are becoming harder to avoid. How much human oversight is enough? How do you test an AI-generated result? What needs to be documented? Those are the kinds of questions firms need help answering.”
“The risk is that, without clearer expectations, every firm develops its own approach. That creates inconsistency within the industry, and it can quickly become an audit-quality issue. Firms are looking for a standard to follow that keeps everyone on a level playing field and provides the opportunity to compete without having to contemplate risky behavior,” he said.
Chambers also said the focus should not be solely on the underlying AI models.
“A lot of the real risk sits in the application layer, and the tools auditors are actually using to review evidence, test controls, and support their judgments,” he explained. “We’re way past asking questions like ‘Are firms using more AI?’ The question should be, ‘Is AI actually improving audit quality and helping auditors make better decisions?’”
Further, Chambers, former chief executive officer of the Institute of Internal Auditors, said he was encouraged by the PCAOB’s focus on clear and practical implementation.
“Clear guidance does not have to hold innovation back. In many cases, it gives firms the confidence to move forward because they understand the guardrails. AI can make audit work faster and more effective, but it cannot replace professional judgment, skepticism, or accountability. Those still have to sit with the auditor,” he said. “At the end of the day, this is really about trust. Firms need to be able to show investors, audit committees and regulators that AI is being used in a controlled, explainable and responsible way.”
In the meantime, some of these plans were already articulated previously during public events by Logothetis.
For example, as suggested by SEC Chief Accountant Kurt Hohl, the PCAOB is pursuing transformation of its inspections program by focusing more on quality control while still doing individual audit file reviews. Whether the number of individual file reviews will go up or down as a result is not known at this point.
Moreover, among other things, the board will likely pursue greater alignment with standards set by the International Auditing and Assurance Standards Board (IAASB). The AICPA’s long-running goal has been to converge its standards with those set by global standard-setters as much as possible with jurisdictional differences.
The PCAOB sets auditing standards for public companies and broker-dealers registered with the SEC. The AICPA sets audit rules for public companies.
Comments on the draft strategic plan are due by September 4.
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