The chief administrative officer of The Public Company Accounting Oversight Board is stepping down at the end of the month to pursue a job more in line with his career interests. Specifically, Paul Schneider wants to work with start-up companies or in turnaround situations, PCAOB spokesperson Christi Harlan told CFO.com.
Schneider has been with PCAOB since January 2003, when the board was in start-up mode. “Starting an organization from scratch is always exciting and often rewarding, but being involved with the start-up of the PCAOB has been an honor,” Schneider remarked in a press statement. Before joining the PCAOB, Schneider was managing principal of turnaround management firm Vector Recovery Group. He also spent 14 years with financial services firm Acacia Group, where he served as chief financial officer and chief investment officer. He began his career in public accounting at Arthur Andersen
The board, which was informed about Schnieder’s resignation last week, has not yet announced it plans to replace the executive. Currently, the chief administrative officer duties include management of administration, finance, IT, human resources, public affairs, and other operating segments.
The PCAOB, which was created by the Sarbanes-Oxley Act to oversee public accounting firms, has a 2006 operating budget of $131 million. The board employs a staff of about 470 workers, and officials had hoped to raise that count to 537 by the end of the year. However, “the competition for experienced auditors is truly spectacular,” added Harlan. Schneider’s salary is not publicly reported, but Harlan notes that Congress made it clear that PCAOB wages should be competitive with the private sector. The PBAOB is funded through fees paid by publicly traded companies.
In addition to Schneider’s departure, the PCAOB announced that Harlan will be leaving the board’s staff to “explore” career interests in the disaster response field. Harlan was a Red Cross volunteer in New Orleans during Hurricane Katrina, and saying that she has a “deep interest [in disaster response] is putting it mildly,” she added. Harlan’s final day at the board is Friday. She also was hired by the PCAOB in 2003.
Prior to joining the PCAOB, Harlan was a public affairs director at the Securities and Exchange Commission, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, and the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs.