US regulator the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has named a former Deloitte vice chairman as its chief accountant, with responsibility for establishing and enforcing accounting and auditing policy as well as improving the professional performance of public company auditors
James Schnurr recently retired from Deloitte's US arm, where he was vice chairman and senior professional practice director, and specialised in financial and SEC reporting for public companies.
He began his career at Deloitte in 1975 and became a partner in 1985. He has also served on various working and advisory groups of the US standard-setter, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB), Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB) and American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA).
Mary Jo White, SEC chair, said: 'Jim’s broad expertise in accounting, reporting, and risk management will help foster investor confidence by holding companies accountable for their financial reporting requirements.
'His deep knowledge of accounting and auditing standards coupled with his extensive experience interacting with regulators and accounting and auditing standard setters will be invaluable to the Commission.’
Schnurr replaces Paul Beswick, who joined the SEC staff in September 2007 and has been chief accountant since 2012.
