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Using the PCAOB Inspection Reports database
Who is this article for?
Users who want to learn about the PCAOB Inspection Reports database.
No special access or permissions are required.
The PCAOB Inspection Reports database provides comprehensive access to all Public Company Accounting Oversight Board reports assessing audit firms' compliance with professional and regulatory standards.
1. Understanding the database
The Audit Analytics PCAOB Inspection Reports database comprises all PCAOB reports assessing a firm's compliance with professional and regulatory audit standards. This product does not include information from Part II of the inspection reports.
The database is available online, through WRDS, and as data feeds [Feed89] with the relevant subscription.
- Saved Search Alert: Yes
- Daily Summary Email: No
2. Identifying common uses
The database supports the following use cases:
- Easily access inspection reports for all audit firms and network affiliates
- Benchmark audit deficiencies by auditor or issue
- Identify number of deficiencies per inspection
- Track the most common inspection deficiencies
- Filter by auditor of record, date of issuance, ownership structure, and audit deficiencies disclosed
3. Understanding the collection methodology
Each report has been analysed and categorised according to our proprietary taxonomy. This data is sourced from PCAOB Inspection Reports.
4. Searching the database
The PCAOB Inspection Reports search page offers the following filters:
| Name | Description | Data Dictionary Field(s) | Sort By? |
| Filter by Auditor | Filter for a specific auditor or group of auditors that were inspected | Auditor Name | Yes |
| Filter by Issue Taxonomy | Filter by Auditor Deficiencies, Auditor Independence, Firm's Response, Accounting Issues, and their sub-categories | GAAP Departure Deficiencies, Other Audit Deficiencies, PCAOB-Identified Instances, Firm-Identified Instances, Accounting Issues / Areas Mentioned, Nature of Response, Accounting Issues | No |
| Filter by Ownership Structure | Filter by firm's ownership structure | Ownership Structure | Yes |
| Audit Deficiencies | Filter by whether audit deficiencies were identified | Audit Deficiencies, Number of Deficient Audits – Audit Review, Number of Deficiencies – Audit Review | No |
| Independence Non-Compliance | Filter by whether instances of independence non-compliance were identified | Independence Non-compliance, Number of Independence Non-compliance Instances | No |
| Date of Issuance | Filter by date the inspection report was issued by the PCAOB | Issuance Date | Yes |
| Auditor Location | Filter by auditor location | Headquarter City, Headquarter State Name | Yes |
5. Viewing and accessing results
Results can be viewed at the bottom of the page. The following are accessible through clicking the respective hyperlinks:
- PCAOB Inspection Report Data Dictionary download
- CSV file downloads of the results (all fields available in the CSV are defined in the Data Dictionary)
- Auditor profiles
- PCAOB Report