Brattle Report Finds Auditor Enforcement Fell Sharply in 2025 Amid Leadership Turnover and Shift in Regulatory Priorities

CHICAGO, Feb. 26, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- According to a new report from The Brattle Group, enforcement activity involving auditors declined substantially in 2025, reflecting a period of significant transition at both the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB).

The report, 2025 Enforcement Activity Involving Auditors: SEC & PCAOB Enforcement Actions Brought Against Public Accounting Firms and Associated Individuals, finds that the two regulators together initiated 39 enforcement actions in 2025 – a 33% decrease from 2024 – while total monetary sanctions of $17.9 million fell 66% from the prior year.

Authored by Brattle Principal Alison Forman and Associate Adam Karageorge, the report analyzes enforcement trends from 2018 through 2025, comparing 2025 activity with enforcement during prior SEC and PCAOB administrations. The authors also highlight several notable developments likely to have impacted activity in 2025, including leadership transitions that have reshaped enforcement priorities.

"Leadership changes, evolving enforcement philosophies, and institutional disruption – particularly at the PCAOB – combined to drive a sharp decline in auditor enforcement activity in 2025, marking a turning point in the US enforcement landscape," said Ms. Forman, Co-Leader of Brattle's Accounting Practice. "The result is a fundamentally different environment than what auditors faced just a year earlier, with implications that will extend into 2026 and beyond."

Among the report's notable findings:

• The PCAOB and SEC initiated 39 enforcement actions against auditors in 2025, down from 58 actions in 2024.
• The PCAOB accounted for 95% of initiated actions, while SEC enforcement activity fell to just two actions – the lowest annual total in the authors' sample.
• Total monetary sanctions declined to $17.9 million, with the PCAOB imposing nearly all penalties.
• While the PCAOB imposed the third-highest total penalties in its 21-year enforcement history, 84% of the actions and 98% of its penalties were brought prior to Chair Erica Williams's resignation on July 22, underscoring the sharp decline in enforcement activity following the leadership transition.
• Non-US respondents accounted for 93% of total monetary sanctions, continuing a multi-year upward trend.
• Quality control violations featured prominently in PCAOB actions, while independence violations dominated the SEC's limited enforcement docket.

The report also examines the implications of leadership changes following President Trump's inauguration, the PCAOB board overhaul, the delayed implementation of QC 1000, and the SEC's newly announced Cross-Border Task Force. Drawing on trends observed in 2025, the authors also offer predictions for 2026 and beyond.

The full report is available at https://www.brattle.com/insights-events/publications/2025-enforcement-activity-involving-auditors/.

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SOURCE The Brattle Group