Hester Pierce strikes back against SEC crypto warning to accounting firms

Hester Pierce, a United States Securities and Exchange Commission commissioner, argued that full transparency should not come at the cost of compromising good-faith efforts.

Commissioner Hester Pierce of the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has raised concerns about the agency’s recent statement advising accounting firms against taking on non-audit work for crypto firms.

In a July 28 tweet, Pierce challenged the recent statement by the SEC’s chief accountant Paul Munter, proposing that accounting firms adopt an all-or-nothing approach in their dealings with crypto firms. Pierce believes this might cause crypto firms to shy away from making good-faith efforts to be transparent.

While Pierce noted that crypto firms and accountants should ensure transparency regarding proof of reserves, specifying what is and isn’t acceptable, she questioned why accounting firms should be cautious of providing assurance work to crypto firms. 

“Why would we want to discourage good-faith efforts to provide more transparency?” Pierce asked in a tweet.

Munter argued that partial engagements might result in crypto firms selectively choosing only certain aspects of the business to show accounting firms and then presenting that information as a full audit to clients. 

He believes that work beyond a full audit’s scope will lack transparency for investors, stating:

Shaub also highlighted the issue of some accounting firms aligning themselves with cryptocurrency expertise to boost their reputation but becoming unresponsive when problems arise.