Zoe-Vonna Palmrose to Return to USC Professorship, Completing SEC Service as Deputy Chief Accountant

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
2008-162

Washington, D.C., July 31, 2008 — The Securities and Exchange Commission announced today that Dr. Zoe-Vonna Palmrose will return to the University of Southern California as a Professor of Accounting in the Marshall School of Business and Leventhal School of Accounting, concluding her two years of successful public service as the agency's Deputy Chief Accountant for Professional Practice.

As Deputy Chief Accountant, Dr. Palmrose played a key role in nearly all aspects of the Commission's work related to overseeing the activities of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB), managing the resolution of audit independence issues and ethical matters, monitoring audit and independence standard-setting internationally, and observing the Department of Treasury's Advisory Committee on the Auditing Profession.

"I am personally very grateful to Dr. Palmrose for dedicating her energies and expertise to the cause of investor protection, and to USC for supporting her in doing so," said SEC Chairman Christopher Cox. "Her extensive experience and groundbreaking work in the accounting and academic worlds enabled her to bring an exceptionally informed perspective to our Office of the Chief Accountant. As expected, she has done a remarkable job in leading our national effort to ensure that public companies adhere to internal controls and provide their investors with quality financial information that they can rely on and understand. Her service to our nation during these past two years has been outstanding."

Dr. Palmrose said, "I am very proud of all that the Professional Practice Group has accomplished over the last two years, including the group's efforts to improve the implementation of SOX Section 404. It has been a special privilege to work with the Commission and its outstanding staff. I am very grateful to Chairman Cox for having had this opportunity to serve investors in our markets."

Next week, at the American Accounting Association's annual convention in Anaheim, California, Dr. Palmrose will deliver the AAA Presidential Scholar's Address: "Science, Politics, and Accounting: A View from the Potomac."

Prior to serving as a Deputy Chief Accountant at the SEC, Dr. Palmrose was the PricewaterhouseCoopers Professor of Auditing at the University of Southern California. Prior to joining USC, she was on the faculty at the University of California at Berkeley. Dr. Palmrose has published and spoken extensively on a variety of issues related to the quality of financial reporting and auditing, including restatements, regulation of the profession, and audit litigation. Her public service also includes membership on the Public Oversight Board's Panel on Audit Effectiveness, the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants' Auditing Standards Board Fraud Task Force, and the AICPA Antifraud Program and Controls Task Force.

Dr. Palmrose received her B.S. from Oregon State University, and her MBA and Ph.D. from the University of Washington. She has worked in public accounting and private industry.

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http://www.sec.gov/news/press/2008/2008-162.htm