SEC Chairman Requests Resignation of PCAOB Chair Erica Williams

Erica Williams, Chair of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB), will step down on July 22 following a request for her resignation by U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chairman Paul Atkins. Williams announced her departure in an internal email to staff, which was reviewed by Reuters.

The PCAOB confirmed the resignation in a public statement. Atkins, who assumed the SEC chairmanship earlier this year, acknowledged Williams' service in a separate statement.

Williams, a Democrat, had led the PCAOB since 2022. Her departure follows a historical pattern in which new SEC leadership has replaced PCAOB heads during periods of political transition. The SEC has oversight authority over the PCAOB, which was created by Congress in 2002 in the wake of major corporate accounting scandals.

During her tenure, Williams oversaw revisions to auditing standards and imposed increased penalties for violations. In her email to staff, she noted, "Together we have accomplished more to protect investors through our standard setting than any Board since the PCAOB was established."

At the time of writing, no successor has been named.