Samantha Ross, a longtime employee of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board, recently announced her departure from the organization.
Ross has been with the PCAOB since it first opened in January 2003, playing an integral role in the establishment, growth, management, and direction of the PCAOB.
She served in a variety of roles over the years. Among her jobs, Ross was PCAOB’s first chief of staff, serving in that role throughout the term of Chairman William McDonough.
She was also special counsel to Chairman James Doty and served as the top staffer to former board member Charles Niemeier.
“Sam Ross’s career at the PCAOB has shown in full measure her extraordinary gifts of character, intellect, loyalty, and commitment to the public good,” Doty said. “Sam has directly counseled and advised the chair of the PCAOB for a total of 10 years, and each of those chairmen benefitted tremendously from her strategic vision and tireless work. I am personally deeply grateful to her for all she has done for me during my tenure here.”
She played an important part in a number of major policy initiatives, including the development of the Center for Economic Analysis (now part of the Office of Economic and Risk Analysis); the modernization of the auditor’s reporting model; and the rule on audit transparency.
Further, Ross helped develop a plan for a joint inspection regime in negotiation with representatives of the European Commission.
“It has been an honor to work with PCAOB chairmen and Board members, and with incredibly talented and deeply committed colleagues at the PCAOB, to establish a robust system of independent auditor oversight to protect investors in U.S. capital markets,” Ross said. “I have seen firsthand that independent auditor oversight has led to significant improvement in the quality of audits and has greatly enhanced investor protection.”
Ross is a graduate of Duke Law School and Cornell University College of Arts & Sciences.