The PCAOB has the authority to investigate and impose sanctions on those registered accounting firms or individuals who are found in violation of SOX, the rules of the board, or the SEC. Such punishments handed out by the board include: fines, suspending or revoking an auditor’s registration, suspending or even barring an individual from doing business with a public accounting firm. While the PCAOB’s investigations must be confidential and private, its disciplinary hearings also may not be available to the public until the board imposes a penalty for the party in violation. In some cases, however, this hasn’t occurred until a respondent has gotten a chance to obtain SEC review. Lastly, the PCAOB may set standards applying to auditing, quality
