Just before 2019 ended, the Securities and Exchange Commission OK’d a proposal to modernize its decades-old auditor independence rules. If finalized, the updated rules would relax some restrictions that currently prevent auditors from working for companies when those auditors have relationships with or provide services to affiliates of those companies.
The proposed rules also would shorten the so-called “look-back” period for U.S. companies planning to go public to align domestic requirements with those of foreign companies. The “look-back” period refers to the time period for which companies planning to go public have to determine their auditor is independent.
