The big 4 accounting firms in the US have been rebuked by the new regulatory body. However the slap on the wrist was very mild.

The Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB) found in initial investigations "significant audit and accounting issues" in audits by all 4 companies. However the PCAOB retained confidence in the companies, even though it had found quality control problems at each firm.

Instead the PCAOB chose to highlight the more rigourous inspection regime in having picked up the problems. Thus deflecting the gaze away from the firms audit processes.

The PCAOB was founded in the wake of the Enron and WorldCom scandals. Sarbanes-Oxley is the legislation which is most closely connected with the PCAOB.

Large tracts of the report have not been made public. Congress decreed that public disclosure of inspections should only start after one year of inspections. Thus giving the audit companies time to clear their act up.