Steven Harris and Jay Hanson Reappointed to PCAOB

The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced that Public Company Accounting Oversight Board members Steven B. Harris and Jay D. Hanson have been reappointed for five-year terms.

The PCAOB, established by the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, oversees the audits of the financial statements of public companies and broker-dealers through registration, standard setting, inspection, and disciplinary programs. The Commission selects members and the chair of the PCAOB after consultation with the Treasury Department and the Federal Reserve Board.

“I’m pleased to join my fellow commissioners in reappointing Steve and Jay to serve as PCAOB board members, and I look forward to their continued service in a second term,” said SEC Chairman Elisse B. Walter. “Steve has provided important institutional continuity as the longest-serving Board member who played a key role in helping to shape the law that created the PCAOB. Jay’s depth of expertise in auditing issues from his more than 30 years of prior private practice already has been an invaluable contribution to the Board’s efforts.”

SEC Chief Accountant Paul Beswick added, “The Board has a number of important initiatives underway as it embarks on its second decade of overseeing auditors of companies subject to the securities laws. We are very pleased to be able to continue to work with Steve, Jay, and the rest of the Board on these initiatives.”

Mr. Harris was appointed to the PCAOB in 2008. He was previously Senior Vice President and Special Counsel for APCO Worldwide, where he advised clients on matters relating to financial transactions, corporate governance, crisis management, investigations, foreign investment, trade promotion, and government affairs. For more than 15 years, Mr. Harris served as a Staff Director and Chief Counsel of the U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs. He also served as a Staff Director and Chief Counsel to the Securities Subcommittee. He worked on all of the legislation, investigations, and oversight conducted by the committee from 1981 to 2007. Mr. Harris was a counsel to Senator Donald W. Riegle, Jr. from 1979 to 1981, and served as a counsel to Congresswoman Barbara Jordan and as a representative to the National Commission for the Review of Antitrust Laws and Procedures from 1978 to 1979. He graduated with honors from Dartmouth College and earned an LL.B. from George Washington University.

Mr. Hanson was appointed to the PCAOB in 2011. He previously spent nearly 32 years at McGladrey & Pullen LLP, where he worked with a variety of clients ranging from small nonprofit organizations to large multi-national public companies. Mr. Hanson served as the National Director of Accounting, overseeing the firm’s accounting guidance and training practices, as well as leader of the firm’s Accounting Standards Group. He served as a member of the Emerging Issues Task Force of the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) from 2006 to 2011. He also was a member of the Financial Reporting Executive Committee of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) from 2005 to 2011, serving as chairman for the final three years of his tenure. Mr. Hanson is a certified public accountant licensed to practice in his home state of Minnesota. He graduated from Concordia College in Moorhead, Minn., with a B.A. in Business Administration, Accounting and Mathematics.

Mr. Harris is reappointed to a second term ending Oct. 24, 2017, and Mr. Hanson is reappointed to a second term ending Oct. 24, 2018.