Longtime PCAOB official to lead SEC

The SEC has tapped a longtime official of the PCAOB as its new leader. George Botic, a CPA who has been a PCAOB board member since October 2023, became the acting chair of the PCAOB on July 23, the SEC said in a statement. Congress formed the nonprofit in 2002 in response to a series of high-profile accounting scandals and auditing failures. 

Botic said in the SEC's statement that he was honored to work with the securities regulator, which oversees the board, and PCAOB staff to meet its mission. 

The SEC's chairman last week asked for the resignation of Erica Williams, who had been leading the PCAOB since January 2022. 

Botic has worked at the PCAOB for over two decades, in a variety of roles. 

The change in leadership has been expected since Republicans took power in Washington earlier this year. SEC Chairman Paul Atkins has been a vocal critic of the PCAOB in the past, and Republican lawmakers earlier this year tried unsuccessfully to effectively eliminate the group. 

The outgoing chair told Reuters she urged the incoming leadership to protect the watchdog’s work. 

"Now is not the time to pull back from the PCAOB," Erica Williams told Reuters in an interview last week. 

"History tells us that in times when the economy is tight, when there is volatility, that’s when people cook the books. There is an increased risk of fraud.”