SEC Commissioner Hester Pierce Challenges Crypto Auditing Warnings

Hester Pierce, commissioner of the SEC, has criticized the watchdog's recent warning to accounting firms about taking on non-audit work for crypto firms. Pierce argues that discouraging good-faith efforts to provide transparency may hinder the crypto industry's progress. The SEC's chief accountant, Paul Munter, believes that partial engagements could lead to selective disclosure and misleading statements. He suggests that accounting firms should consider making public statements or reporting clients to the SEC if they make misleading claims about non-audit work. However, auditing and accounting ethics professor Mike Shaub points out the challenge of making public statements due to confidentiality obligations.