Would the PCAOB Face the Same Threats If It Weren’t Led by a Black Woman?

The Public Company Accounting Oversight Board was created to stop another Enron. Now, it’s being shut down — and its first Black leader is out. The question isn’t just “why,” but who benefits.

Erica Williams, the first Black person — not just woman — to lead the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB), is stepping down. Her exit comes in the shadow of a broader decision: the Trump Administration has announced plans to eliminate the department altogether. To be clear, the PCAOB isn’t just any regulatory body. It’s the agency that watches the watchdogs — the ones meant to keep public companies honest with their financial statements. If the SEC is the courtroom, the PCAOB is the courtroom’s camera crew. And yet, despite its critical role, it’s being cut.

 

What the PCAOB Actually Does — and Why It Was Created

The PCAOB was born in the ashes of Enron.

Back in the early 2000s, energy giant Enron was reporting massive, record-breaking profits every quarter. But those earnings were fiction. Its auditor, Arthur Andersen, failed to challenge the numbers. Instead, it signed off on fraudulent financials — costing investors billions and triggering one of the biggest corporate scandals in American history.

Congress responded by creating the PCAOB — a nonprofit overseen by the SEC, but funded independently through fees from companies. Its mission? To make sure audit firms never again let a corporation lie to the public unchecked.

In other words: the PCAOB doesn’t regulate businesses. It regulates the people who are supposed to regulate businesses. It’s the auditor’s auditor.

Erica Williams Brought the PCAOB Into the 21st Century

Under Williams’ leadership, the PCAOB expanded its reach beyond just balance sheets. It began monitoring how firms treated employees, enforced training standards, and managed ethical reporting structures.

She turned the PCAOB into more than a compliance body — she made it a force for transparency, fairness, and accountability.

And that may be why she became a target.

Because when you do your job too well — especially in spaces dominated by wealth, whiteness, and unchecked authority — you become a problem.

 

So Why Is It Really Being Shut Down?

  • Let’s break this down:

  • The PCAOB doesn’t cost taxpayers a cent.

  • It was created to protect investors.

  • It has a clear mission with historical precedent.

  • Under Williams, it became more effective — not less.

 So why eliminate it?

One theory is simple: political posturing. The Trump-era appetite to dismantle any institution associated with regulation, oversight, or inclusion runs deep.
Williams represented all three.

The question isn’t just whether the PCAOB is valuable. It’s whether the visibility of a Black woman leading it made it easier to discard.

The Real Loss Isn’t Just Williams — It’s What She Built

This isn’t about one executive losing her job.

This is about what it means when institutions meant to ensure fairness — financial or otherwise — are erased.
It’s about what message is sent when those leading the charge toward integrity are sidelined.

It’s about whether America still wants watchdogs at all — or just lapdogs in better suits.

About the Author
William T. Jordan, II is the founder and editor-in-chief of The Black Prospectus, a media platform dedicated to Black capital, enterprise, and economic power. With a background in financial services and data strategy, Jordan brings a critical yet thoughtful lens to stories at the intersection of business, policy, and culture. Reach him at founder@blackprospectus.com.

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