Brian Croteau is a Partner in the National Quality Organization of PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP’s (PwC) Assurance Practice. Prior to rejoining the Firm in 2017, he served for over six years as the Deputy Chief Accountant of the Professional Practice Group within the Office of the Chief Accountant (OCA) at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in Washington, DC. Brian has also previously served as a Senior Associate Chief Accountant in OCA from 2004 to 2007.
Currently, Brian serves as the leader of the Regulatory Risk and Quality Control group within the Firm’s national office, responsible for leading efforts related to its relationship with the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB), including supporting all aspects of the PCAOB’s inspection processes. He also plays a key role in the assessment of audit quality, related internal and external reporting, and advancing initiatives related to the Firm’s system of quality control. Prior to this role, he served within PwC’s Auditing Services, Methodology and Tools group, leading and supporting national office efforts focused on audit quality. In his roles since joining the Firm in 1993, he has managed the audits of public and private companies, performed consultations with engagement teams on complex and judgmental auditing and internal control matters, and supported quality initiatives, including development and implementation of Firm audit policy and guidance. He also has participated in various Firm audit training initiatives and had active roles in the Firm’s input to AICPA, and IAASB audit standard-setting activities. Additionally, he has been active on numerous task forces of the AICPA and the Center for Audit Quality.
In his work at the SEC, Brian played a key role in the Commission’s oversight of the activities of the PCAOB, managed the resolution of auditor independence issues and ethical matters, and monitored audit and independence standard setting internationally. He also provided advice and developed positions on issues related to performance of audits, including auditor independence, and management and auditor assessments of internal control over financial reporting that were referred to the OCA due to their complexity or policy implications.
Brian is a Certified Public Accountant and a member of the AICPA. Brian earned his B.B.A. in accounting from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. He was named 2007 accounting alumnus of the year of the UMass-Amherst Isenberg School of Management.