What US law, enacted in 2002, created the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board?

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What U.S. law, enacted in 2002, created the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board? The answer is the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. Formally titled the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, it reshaped U.S. corporate reporting and audit oversight.

Congress passed the law after major accounting scandals, including Enron and WorldCom, damaged investor confidence. President George W. Bush signed it on July 30, 2002. Title I established the PCAOB, a nonprofit corporation responsible for overseeing audits of companies whose securities are registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

The PCAOB registers eligible accounting firms, sets auditing and related professional standards, inspects registered firms, and investigates and disciplines violations. The SEC supervises the PCAOB and approves its rules and budget.

The other options belong to different parts of securities-law history. The Securities Act of 1933 governs public offerings, Glass-Steagall separated commercial and investment banking, and Dodd-Frank followed the 2008 financial crisis.

Source: Wikipedia · fact-checked Sept. 2026

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