I enjoyed Michael Doron’s article in the February CPA Journal (“The PCAOB as Third-party Payer”). The PCAOB as a third-party payer is—as the article correctly puts it—an idea whose time has come. This is good news to auditors, whose services will stop being commoditized for the lowest bidder, reducing an erosion of independence. Next on the horizon could be similar third-party bodies for banks, creditors, and not-for-profits who are regulated by legal requirements. I agree with the author’s conclusions; it’s an idea whose time has come.
