SEC Adopts Amendments to Auditor Independence Rules

Partners Brian Breheny and Charles Smith and counsel Andrew Fuchs review final rules issued by the SEC in October 2020 that significantly modify the framework that public companies and their auditors use to evaluate auditor independence. The rules provide additional clarity for certain difficult and recurring issues, such as complications that arise from auditor independence assessments with respect to affiliates of the audit client and certain auditor independence requirements in connection with IPOs, M&A activity and similar corporate events.