What are the required procedures when there is a merger between two or more audit firms when one or more of the firms are participating audit firms?
Since a merger is a material change per Rule 216 (a), the participating audit firms should notify CPAB within 15 days of the merger. b) For CPAB registration purposes the continuing firm is considered to be the participating audit firm. The firms which are not continuing are considered to be predecessor firms. c) If the firm name changes, a new Participation Agreement should be submitted. PCAOB registrants should also submit a Consent and Agreement – Section 7. d) The continuing firm should update the firm information on the website. e) If the continuing firm is already a participating audit firm and the firm name is unchanged, the procedures outlined in points f) through h) below only apply to predecessor firms. f) Reporting issuer clients and individuals authorized to sign audit reports that were previously associated with predecessor firms should be added to the continuing firm’s information on the website. g) Predecessor firms should complete an online withdrawal form and also subm
