PCAOB OKs new Internal Control standard.

The PCAOB has adopted Auditing Standard No. 5, An Audit of Internal Control That is Integrated with an Audit of Financial Statements. With SEC approval, the standard will supersede Auditing Standard No. 2 and apply to audits of all companies required by SEC rules to obtain an audit of internal control.

The new standard is designed to:

* Focus the internal control audit on the most important matters.

* Eliminate procedures that are unnecessary to achieve the intended benefits.

* Make the audit clearly scalable to fit the size and the complexity of any company.

* Simplify the text of the standard.

The adopted standard and related documents are available at www.pcaobus.org/Standards/Proposed_Standards_and_Related_Rules.aspx#Adopted.