PCAOB releases new machine-readable audit inspection datasets

April 30, 2025

The datasets encompass information dating back to 2018 for annually-inspected firms and 2019 for triennially-inspected firms.

The Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB) has released new and enhanced datasets related to its inspection reports, offering stakeholders improved access to detailed audit information.

These datasets are now available in machine-readable formats to facilitate analysis across various platforms.

Covering Part I.A and Part I.B of PCAOB inspection reports, the datasets are provided in CSV, XML, and JSON formats.

They encompass information dating back to 2018 for annually-inspected firms and 2019 for triennially-inspected firms.

Updates to the datasets will be issued quarterly, PCAOB said.

PCAOB chair Erica Williams said: “PCAOB inspection reports have always been a data-rich resource for investors and others.

“With the release of these downloadable datasets, we are continuing our efforts to drive audit quality by increasing transparency.”

Part I.A of the inspection reports highlights deficiencies in audit firms’ evidence supporting their opinions on financial statements and internal control over financial reporting.

This dataset includes a description of each deficiency, along with attributes such as the issuer reference key, the role of the audit firm, and the audits affected.

Meanwhile, Part I.B discusses noncompliance instances with PCAOB standards or rules not directly related to the sufficiency of evidence obtained by audit firms.

This dataset details each Part I.B deficiency and the corresponding auditing standard.

Additionally, the PCAOB has updated an existing dataset that provides firm-level information from more than 4,000 published inspection reports.

This dataset now includes more detailed information about the audits reviewed during inspections.

The PCAOB’s efforts to increase the availability of reliable and relevant inspection information align with stakeholders’ interests, including those of the PCAOB’s Investor Advisory Group and Standards and Emerging Issues Advisory Group.

Recently, reports emerged that Republican lawmakers in the US are looking to dismantle the PCAOB and transfer its responsibilities to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).  

[The Accountant Online]