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Jan 29 2012

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DFSA Enters Into Statement of Protocol With US Audit Regulator

The agreement was signed on behalf of the DFSA by the Chief Executive, Mr Paul M Koster, and the Chairman of the PCAOB, Mr James R Doty, during a visit by Mr Koster to Washington DC. DFSA Board Member, Dr J Andrew Spindler, was also present at the signing.

Mr Paul M Koster, Chief Executive of the DFSA, said: "The DFSA is very pleased to have concluded this statement of protocol with the PCAOB, the United States (US) agency responsible for federal oversight of the audits of public companies. The ability of audit regulators to co-operate and share information is critical in the current environment when the need to protect investors and the public interest has never been more important. There are eight US regulated Firms in the DIFC and the PCAOB already conducts audits jointly with the DFSA, this agreement facilitates the sharing of information."

"This is, in fact, the first bi-lateral agreement the DFSA has established with an audit regulator following the change to the Dubai International Financial Centre 's Regulatory law, which allows such co-operation. As fellow members of the International Federation of Independent Audit Regulators, the DFSA and the PCAOB are committed to developing and implementing international standards, among them supporting co-operation between regulators and promoting greater consistency of audit oversight."

Mr Koster added: "This initiative also extends the DFSA's collegiate links with regulators in the US. The DFSA already has a Memorandum of Understanding with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission and with the four federal banking supervisors, as well as other US regulators in the context of our multi-lateral arrangements."

When the PCAOB announced its approval of this agreement in December, Mr Doty said: "For many years the DFSA has been a valued partner as the PCAOB has sought to ensure effective cross-border audit oversight. We are pleased that this agreement will allow us to exchange confidential information, which will enhance the strong co-operative relationship that already exists."

-Ends-

For further information please contact:
Ms Angharad Irving - Jones
Head of Corporate Communications
Dubai Financial Services Authority
Level 13, The Gate
Dubai, UAE
Tel: +971 (0)4 362 1661
Fax: +971 (0)4 362 0801
Email: airvingjones@dfsa.ae
www.dfsa.ae

The Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA) is the independent regulator of financial and ancillary services conducted in or from the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC), a purpose-built financial free-zone in Dubai. The DFSA's regulatory mandate covers asset management, banking and credit services, securities, collective investment funds, custody and trust services, commodities futures trading, Islamic finance, insurance, an international equities exchange and an international commodities derivatives exchange.

Paul M Koster was appointed Chief Executive of the DFSA on 1 December 2008. Prior to becoming Chief Executive, he was Commissioner and Member of the Executive Board of the Autoriteit Financiële Markten (AFM), the national, integrated conduct of business financial services regulator for the Netherlands, where he was identified as one of the four leaders shaping the conscience of Dutch business. Mr Koster joined the AFM in March 2001 and in addition to his duties as a Commissioner, he chaired, from May 2006 until December 2007, CESR-Fin, the permanent working party of the Committee of European Securities Regulators that co-ordinates the endorsement and enforcement of financial reporting standards in Europe.

For the previous two years he had chaired CESRs Sub-committee on International Standards Endorsement. During his time with the AFM, he was also a Member of the IOSCO Chairs' Committee and, as Chief Executive of the DFSA, he remains actively involved in the work of IOSCO.

Mr Koster previously served as Executive Vice President (Corporate Internal Audit) at Royal Philips Electronics 1998 to 2001; as Managing Partner Corporate Finance, Coopers & Lybrand 1988 to 1998; and as Chief Compliance Officer and Acting Commissioner of Quotations, Amsterdam Stock Exchange 1986 to 1988; and carried out a number of senior finance functions in his earlier career, having trained as an accountant with Arthur Andersen. Mr Koster is a licensed Registered (Chartered) Accountant having qualified through the Royal Dutch Institute of Chartered Accountants in 1977 and certified as a registered auditor in 1983.

In May 2009, Mr Koster joined the Advisory Board of the Emirates Securities and Commodities Authority (SCA), the UAE's federal securities regulator, and in July 2009, he also became a Member of the Consultative Advisory Groups of the International Auditing and Assurance Standards Board (IAASB) and the International Ethics Standards Board for Accountants (IESBA).

In September 2010, Mr Koster won the 'CEO of the Year for Financial Services' award and was voted one of the most influential expatriates living and working in the region today.

Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB) is a non-profit corporation established by Congress to oversee the audits of public companies in order to protect investors and the public interest by promoting informative, accurate, and independent audit reports. The PCAOB also oversees the audits of broker-dealers, including compliance reports filed pursuant to federal securities laws, to promote investor protection.

The Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, which created the PCAOB, required that auditors of US public companies be subject to external and independent oversight for the first time in history. Previously, the profession was self-regulated. The five members of the PCAOB Board, including the Chairman, are appointed to staggered five-year terms by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), after consultation with the Chairman of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System and the Secretary of the Treasury. The SEC has oversight authority over the PCAOB, including the approval of the Board's rules, standards, and budget. The Act established funding for PCAOB activities, primarily through annual fees assessed on public companies in proportion to their market capitalization and on brokers and dealers based on their net capital.

James R Doty was appointed by the SEC as the Chairman of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board in January 2011.

From 1990 to 1992, Mr Doty served as General Counsel of the SEC. In that role, Mr Doty advised the Commission on matters of law and regulatory policy related to the Commission's oversight of US securities markets, including initiatives relating to the integrity of financial reporting and disclosure standards in the context of the globalisation of capital markets, enforcement practices and policies in the wake of the savings-and-loan crisis, international technical assistance and co-ordination efforts, and adoption of the Remedies Act of 1990.

Prior to and following his SEC service, Mr Doty was a partner at the law firm of Baker Botts LLP, which he first joined in 1969. At Baker Botts LLP, he practiced securities and corporate law and counseled boards of directors and audit committees on regulatory and compliance matters, including matters arising under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002. He also represented the PCAOB in obtaining a successful result in the United States Supreme Court in the landmark challenge to its constitutionality, Free Enterprise Fund v. PCAOB.

Mr Doty was presented with a 2011 Statesman Award by the Foreign Policy Association for his commitment to worldwide audit integrity.

Mr Doty was raised in Houston, Texas. He earned a BA in History from Rice University and was a Rhodes Scholar at Oxford University in England. He also received a MA in History from Harvard University before getting an LLB from Yale Law School.

© Press Release 2012