Sarbanes-oxley act of 2002

SEC. 110. ø15 U.S.C. 7220¿ DEFINITIONS. 
For the purposes of this title, the following definitions shall 
apply: 
(1) A
UDIT
.—The term ‘‘audit’’ means an examination of the 
financial statements, reports, documents, procedures, controls, 
or notices of any issuer, broker, or dealer by an independent 
public accounting firm in accordance with the rules of the 
Board or the Commission, for the purpose of expressing an 
opinion on the financial statements or providing an audit re-
port. 
(2) A
UDIT REPORT
.—The term ‘‘audit report’’ means a docu-
ment, report, notice, or other record— 
(A) prepared following an audit performed for pur-
poses of compliance by an issuer, broker, or dealer with 
the requirements of the securities laws; and 
(B) in which a public accounting firm either— 
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As Amended Through P.L. 116-222, Enacted December 18, 2020

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33 Sec. 
201 
SARBANES-OXLEY ACT OF 2002 
(i) sets forth the opinion of that firm regarding a 
financial statement, report, notice, or other document, 
procedures, or controls; or 
(ii) asserts that no such opinion can be expressed. 
(3) B
ROKER
.—The term ‘‘broker’’ means a broker (as such 
term is defined in section 3(a)(4) of the Securities Exchange 
Act of 1934 (15 U.S.C. 78c(a)(4))) that is required to file a bal-
ance sheet, income statement, or other financial statement 
under section 17(e)(1)(A) of such Act (15 U.S.C. 78q(e)(1)(A)), 
where such balance sheet, income statement, or financial state-
ment is required to be certified by a registered public account-
ing firm. 
(4) D
EALER
.—The term ‘‘dealer’’ means a dealer (as such 
term is defined in section 3(a)(5) of the Securities Exchange 
Act of 1934 (15 U.S.C. 78c(a)(5))) that is required to file a bal-
ance sheet, income statement, or other financial statement 
under section 17(e)(1)(A) of such Act (15 U.S.C. 78q(e)(1)(A)), 
where such balance sheet, income statement, or financial state-
ment is required to be certified by a registered public account-
ing firm. 
(5) P
ROFESSIONAL
STANDARDS
.—The term ‘‘professional 
standards’’ means— 
(A) accounting principles that are— 
(i) established by the standard setting body de-
scribed in section 19(b) of the Securities Act of 1933, 
as amended by this Act, or prescribed by the Commis-
sion under section 19(a) of that Act (15 U.S.C. 17a(s)) 
or section 13(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 
(15 U.S.C. 78a(m)); and 
(ii) relevant to audit reports for particular issuers, 
brokers, or dealers, or dealt with in the quality control 
system of a particular registered public accounting 
firm; and 
(B) auditing standards, standards for attestation en-
gagements, quality control policies and procedures, ethical 
and competency standards, and independence standards 
(including rules implementing title II) that the Board or 
the Commission determines— 
(i) relate to the preparation or issuance of audit 
reports for issuers, brokers, or dealers; and 
(ii) are established or adopted by the Board under 
section 103(a), or are promulgated as rules of the 
Commission. 
(6) S
ELF
-
REGULATORY ORGANIZATION
.—The term ‘‘self-regu-
latory organization’’ has the same meaning as in section 3(a) 
of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (15 U.S.C. 78c(a)).