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SEC Appoints Kurt Hohl as Its New Chief Accountant

The SEC has announced that Kurt Hohl—who has close to four decades of accounting and auditing experience—has been named  the regulator's chief accountant, effective Jul. 7.

As a result of Hohl's appointment, Acting Chief Accountant Ryan Wolfe will return to his position as Chief Accountant in the Division of Enforcement. 

Hohl replaces Paul Munter who retired on Jan. 24, roughly four days after President Donald Trump’s inauguration, closely following SEC Chair Gary Gensler who left the regulator on Jan. 20, reported CFO Dive.

According to Journal of Accountancy, Hohl is taking the position as Congress is debating a budget bill that has provisions shutting down the PCAOB and transferring its work to the SEC.

“Kurt is an experienced accountant with deeply technical knowledge and international experience, and we are lucky he has decided to return to the SEC,” stated SEC Chairman Paul S. Atkins. “This is an important role. Given that I served with Kurt previously, I know firsthand that his integrity, along with his skills, will benefit our markets and investors.”

For his part, Hohl said that he is "pleased to come back to the SEC along with Chairman Atkins, This is a pivotal time for our capital markets, and I look forward to working with the dedicated public servants in the Office of the Chief Accountant to advance accounting and auditing policies that reinforce investor confidence, enhance transparency, and support innovation."

Most recently, Hohl founded Corallium Advisors, which assists companies in navigating complicated auditing, regulatory compliance, risk management, and initial public offerings. Prior to that, he was a partner at Ernst & Young (EY) in a different roles for 26 years. His last EY role was as global deputy vice-chair of EY’s Global Assurance Professional Practice. In that position, he was responsible for the operation and oversight of the technical, regulatory, risk, and quality oversight functions of EY’s global professional practice organization, which is a staff of over 1,400 professionals.

Hohl had served at the regulator from 1989 to 1997 and was promoted to associate chief accountant in the Division of Corporation Finance. In this role, he authored what became the Financial Reporting Manual, which is a primary guide for the SEC accounting staff and practitioners in applying federal securities laws. He started his professional career at Deloitte Haskins & Sells.