Staff Guidance
January 26, 2017
Page 15
1. Legal Name
The other accounting firm is required to be identified by its legal name (and not,
for example a "doing business as" name). As the other accounting firm may perform
audit procedures for more than one principal auditor, using the firm's legal name
ensures consistency in how the other firm's name is reported on Form AP.
Example—"Doing Business As" Name. Gold Accountants Limited, doing
business as ABC Audit Firm Gold contributed 5% or more of the total audit
hours in an issuer audit under arrangements pursuant to either AS 1205 or
AS 1201. The principal auditor's Form AP is required to reflect the legal
name, Gold Accountants Limited, rather than the "doing business as"
name.
2. Headquarters' Office
The city and state (or, if outside the United States, city and country) of the
headquarters' office of the other accounting firm is reported on Form AP, even if the
other firm performs work on the audit in a different city, state, or country.
Example—Work Performed in a City Other Than the Headquarters' Office
Location. Multiple offices of GHI Audit Firm US, headquartered in New
York, New York, participated in the audit of an issuer, including the Dallas,
Texas; Chicago, Illinois; and Los Angeles, California offices. The firm filing
Form AP would aggregate all hours incurred by the offices of GHI Audit
Firm US and, if GHI Audit Firm US contributed 5% or more of total audit
hours, would report New York, New York as the location of GHI Audit Firm
US.
Example—Work Performed in Another Country. An other accounting firm
headquartered in London, United Kingdom performs audit procedures in
Tel Aviv, Israel for the audit of an issuer, contributing 5% or more of the
total audit hours. The firm filing Form AP is required to disclose London,
United Kingdom and not Tel Aviv, Israel as the location of the other firm's
headquarters' office on Form AP.
3. Firm ID
Publicly Available Firm ID. The Firm ID is a five-digit unique identifier based on
the number assigned to the firm by the PCAOB when it requests access to the
PCAOB's web-based Registration, Annual, and Special Reporting system ("RASR" or
"web-based system"). The Firm ID becomes publicly available when registration with
the PCAOB is approved by the Board. The Firm ID remains publicly available (and must
be reported) thereafter, even if the firm's PCAOB registration is later withdrawn or
revoked. This number can be found by viewing the other accounting firm's summary
page on the PCAOB website. It is generally displayed next to the name of the firm—firm