The PCAOB finalized 37 enforcement actions (Total Actions) during 2025—a decrease of 27% from 2024 and the lowest number since 2021. Actions involving the performance of an audit (Auditing Actions) totaled 33, an 18% decrease from 2024. In 73% of the 2025 Auditing Actions, the PCAOB alleged violations of Quality Control Standards, an increase from 53% in 2024.
Despite congressional legislation proposing the elimination of the PCAOB, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) approved the PCAOB’s budget, allowing it to continue operations with the stated purpose of “refocusing on [its] core mission” to drive improvements in audit quality.
The Auditing Actions finalized during the first half of 2025 made up 73% of the annual total.
Firms comprised over two-thirds of total respondents in 2025 Auditing Actions, up from approximately one-half in 2024.
In 2025, 59% of Auditing Actions involving non-U.S. respondents alleged violations of Quality Control Standards only, compared to 6% of those involving U.S. respondents.
Monetary penalties imposed in 2025 Auditing Actions totaled $17.6 million, a 50% decrease compared to 2024 but above the five-year average from 2020 to 2024.
For more information on this topic, please see PCAOB Enforcement Activity 2025 Year in Review.
Source: Settled Disciplinary Orders, Adjudicated Disciplinary Orders by Enforcement Effective Date, available at https://pcaobus.org/oversight/enforcement/enforcement-actions
Note: Terminations of bars are not included. See Research Sample and Data Sources for additional information.
1 Paul S. Atkins, “Statement on PCAOB 2026 Budget,” January 22, 2026, https://www.sec.gov/newsroom/speeches-statements/atkins-statement-pcaob-2026-budget-012226.
The views expressed herein are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the views of Cornerstone Research.
