The Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB) in the US has named William Ryan as acting director of its Division of Enforcement and Investigations.
Ryan will assume the position after the current enforcement director, Robert Rice, retires on 31 December 2025.
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In the acting role, Ryan will be responsible for overseeing investigations and enforcement proceedings involving alleged breaches of PCAOB rules, professional standards and other relevant securities laws.
Ryan currently serves as chief counsel in the Enforcement Division, a post he has held since 2023.
He joined the PCAOB in January 2007 and became a deputy director in the division in 2012.
Before his tenure at the PCAOB, Ryan spent eight years in the US Department of Justice’s Civil Division, working as an assistant director and trial attorney in the Commercial Litigation Branch.
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By GlobalDataHis previous experience also includes serving as a teaching fellow at Columbia Law School and as a law clerk for the US District Court Judge Nathaniel Gorton.
PCAOB acting chair George Botic said: “Enforcement is integral to the PCAOB fulfilling its mission to protect investors by holding firms and individuals accountable for compliance with the PCAOB’s standards, rules, and applicable laws, and deterring misconduct.
“Throughout his many years at the PCAOB, Bill has done outstanding work to advance the PCAOB’s enforcement efforts, and we are fortunate that we can call on him now to step in as DEI’s acting director.”
Rice took up the role of enforcement director in March 2023.
During Rice’s tenure, the PCAOB advanced enforcement actions across a broad range of investor protection issues in US markets.
These included the regulator’s first settled orders involving audit firms based in mainland China and Hong Kong, following the board securing access in 2022 to inspect and investigate firms headquartered in those jurisdictions.
Botic added: “We thank Bob for his notable service at the PCAOB and wish him well in his retirement and future endeavours.”
The PCAOB operates as a non-profit organisation created by an act of the US Congress.
Its mandate is to oversee audits of public companies, promote accurate and independent audit reporting, and safeguard investors.
The board also supervises audits of brokers and dealers registered with the US Securities and Exchange Commission, including oversight of compliance reports filed under federal securities laws.
