Investment Management Partner Discusses Fund Industry Groups’ Reaction to PCAOB’s Proposed Changes to Fair Valuation Standards

Investment management partner Brian McCabe (Boston) is quoted in a Nov. 18 Ignites article titled “ICI to PCAOB: Fiddling with Fair Value Will Punish Funds.” Mr. McCabe reflects on a recent comment letter co-authored by the Investment Company Institute and the Independent Directors Council and addressed to the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB) regarding the board’s proposed changes to its fair valuation standards, which are used to price the daily net asset value of funds. He explains that the letter highlights that although the “changes [are] largely aimed at operating companies,” they might cause an increase in funds’ audit costs. Mr. McCabe also notes it is the industry groups’ job “to make sure that inadvertent challenges aren’t created [for mutual funds] — that we don’t have the cost of audits go through the roof because of not using national pricing groups.”