Chief Accountant Paul Beswick to Leave SEC

The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced that Chief Accountant Paul A. Beswick is leaving the agency to return to the private sector.  He will remain for a transitional period to help ensure continuity in the agency’s Office of the Chief Accountant (OCA).

Mr. Beswick has served as the SEC’s chief accountant since 2012.  He joined the SEC staff in September 2007 as senior advisor to the chief accountant and later was named deputy chief accountant of OCA’s accounting group, which is responsible for resolving accounting practice issues, rulemaking, and oversight of private sector standard-setting.  Mr. Beswick also served as deputy chief accountant for OCA’s professional practice group, which has lead responsibility for auditor independence and interactions with the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board.

Among other accomplishments, during his six-year tenure at the SEC, Mr. Beswick:

• Served as staff director for the SEC Staff’s Work Plan for the Consideration of Incorporating International Financial Reporting Standards into the Financial Reporting System for U.S. Issuers, which concluded with the publication of the SEC Staff Final Report
• Advised on the accounting and professional practice implications of numerous Commission rulemakings and initiatives, including those required by the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act and the Jumpstart Our Business Startups (JOBS) Act
• Helped lead the preparation of the congressionally mandated Study on Mark-to-Market Accounting.
• Worked closely with the SEC’s Advisory Committee on Improvements to Financial Reporting (CIFiR)

SEC Chair Mary Jo White said: "Paul’s leadership, critical analysis and sound judgment earned him the respect and admiration of his colleagues and staff.  He has been an invaluable asset to our accounting and auditing program.  I will miss his wise counsel and insight." 

“I have truly been fortunate to serve as chief accountant under two chairs and alongside the talented and highly dedicated staff in the Office of the Chief Accountant,” said Mr. Beswick. “Throughout my service at the Commission, the staff of the Office of the Chief Accountant has faced many challenges and opportunities.  I have been continually impressed with how they rise to the occasion in the interest of investors and the U.S. capital markets.  I will miss the many relationships I have developed throughout the Commission during my service.”

Before joining the SEC staff, Mr. Beswick was a partner with Ernst & Young LLP, where he worked in the firm's Professional Practice and Risk Management Group.  He also served as a practice fellow at the Financial Accounting Standards Board, where he assisted in the development of accounting guidance on evolving accounting issues.

Mr. Beswick is a graduate of Miami University in Oxford, Ohio.