Throughout our class time together LinkedIn has posted some very interesting links on their page. The one that stood out to me was a link they posted about a scholarship. The headline on the article is “PCAOB Announces 332 scholarships for the 2018-2019 Academic Year.” I found it pretty rewarding that the PCAOB will award one student at 332 colleges in the country. It shows they are interested in our youth and want them to succeed. The next generation needs a push and incentive when receiving a scholarship. I know I wish I would of won that scholarship. This scholarship has started for eight years now. Auditors can learn from LinkedIn regarding scholarship opportunities for those college students studying for their bachelors or masters in accounting. They will learn the scholarship requirements that the PCAOB has in place for those scholarship winners. It can also be a very good conversation starter if a new auditor meets new coworkers. It would be exciting to meet someone that won that scholarship reward and ask what they wrote about. As an aspiring accountant, being rewarded for work that you want to put into is very satisfying. There is no greater satisfaction than hard work.

Another thing Auditors can learn from the PCAOB’s Twitter page is its most recent report. They put a link on their twitter page about inspection reports that were conducted in 2017. These reports are all on public companies. The inspection report starts off by talking about the company they have audited. It then starts the breakdown of that company (PCAOB Posts 9 New Inspection Reports). The company size, the lead partners of the company, the number of audit work performed by the Firm, etc. They then get into the audit engagements, quality control system, and review of audit work. This is important not only to auditors but aspiring auditors because instead of reading scenarios out of the textbook, they get to see the real life audit reports and expectations when you are an auditor. Auditors can learn from multiple reports to see how they can conduct a cleaner audit on the next client that they perform an audit on.

Auditors can go on YouTube and listen to videos regarding the PCAOB meetings. The videos are really lengthy but Auditors will gain knowledge of what is to come in these meetings. Also there is a seven part video series answering common questions on becoming a PCAOB inspector (10/21/15 How are the Pay and Benefits at the PCAOB?). They answer the questions of compensation, travel, work life, and benefits. Every person when applying to a new job secretly wants to know how much they will be compensated. Listening to these videos will excite aspiring PCAOB inspectors or auditors for the PCAOB to come join the team.

Throughout our class period together, the PCAOB has been going back and forth on how to decide disciplinary actions for those auditors who do not follow the rules and standards. Not only are these announcements have been posted all throughout Facebook, it has been posted on the PCAOB websites. If a person follows the PCAOB Facebook page, they will see a link that follows with the saying “Settled Disciplinary Actions” (Settled Disciplinary Orders). Once they click on the link, they will be brought to the PCAOB website where there will be a list of people on file. A person can scroll through and click on each person that is listed on the website and download their PDF file. In the file they will find what the person did, how much they were fined, and any other additional punishments that have been added to that person. Auditors can find this information very useful because they can determine key names and have discussions with other fellow auditors of what happened. Also they can learn from that person’s mistake. They will also be informed on what type of punishment has been aligned with the specific offense of breaking the accounting standards. Also breaking the code of ethics as an accountant not only will give you punishments from the PCAOB but will lead to a bad public image in the future.

Auditors can subscribe to PCAOB email updates to learn about information and current updates regarding the PCAOB. Maybe an auditor doesn’t have the time to scroll thru social media to view information of what is going on. The best way to relay information for those who do not have time is having them on this email list. This will save time and they will receive an email alert every time a newsletter or update happens right on their phone.

Auditors can use Flickr to put names to faces when it comes to the PCAOB. They will gain some sort of feeling as if they are in the office with them. Flickr does not use any words but picture. Auditors can benefit from this when they recognize one of the board members in a casual setting. They can engage conversation with them and you never know, they might even offer a job interview to you. Putting names to faces is always a good thing to do before you actually meet the person. Also if an auditor has an interview with a PCAOB board member, they won’t be as shocked when they come to meet the person face to face.

Lastly the PCAOB uses a new social media platform called flickr. Flickr is anew app that displays photos of a company. Ever heard of the saying a picture is worth a thousand words? This app brings those photos to life to see the intense faces of those in the meetings that they have. Also they show the ideal workplace and how passionate those are about their job. The only weakness about this social media platform is that they do not keep it updated. They have nothing posted about the “about” section. It looks like the social media platform has not been updated since 2013.

The PCAOB also uses an email subscribe list in order to keep those who are generally interested in the loop. These email messages are sent to a user’s email whenever an alert happens regarding the PCAOB. This may not be a social media platform but it is a platform in order to keep users in the loop of what is going on.

Facebook is the most popular social media platform the PCAOB is using. Facebook brings communities of people together to interact on their daily lives. The PCAOB has done a great job on their website by providing contact information regarding questions or concerns from users. They also have on their home page on Facebook a company overview, general information, and an “about us” segment. This social media aspect has been utilized to its fullest. They post regularly about the meetings they conduct. They post links to the videos which eventually lead back to the YouTube videos. They even respond back to the comments that are written regarding the status updates they post. Also they show pictures of what took place in the meeting too. Auditors can use facebook as another means of Networking. Users can send messages to the PCAOB and get a prompt response back while being on the social media platform. This is good for auditors who want their questions asked in order to learn more about the PCAOB.

YouTube is a social media platform where users post videos for entertainment, or to inform users about a particular topic. There is no status posting when it comes to YouTube. The PCAOB uses YouTube to inform users regarding the meetings they have. From viewing their YouTube page it seems that they post videos on a weekly basis. These videos range from 4 minutes to 3 hours. I personally would keep the videos as close to 20 minutes as possible because most people’s attention span settles after 15 minutes. I think the video length is the only weakness to what the PCAOB using this platform is having. Auditors can view the videos on their own time to have front row experience of being at the PCAOB meetings. They can take notes whenever they see fit and it’s another form of learning about the company and their plans in the future.

Twitter is a popular form of social media that users see what others are saying in a short amount of words or characters. The PCAOB uses Twitter to inform their followers of what is happening on a daily basis. The PCAOB have been posting or tweeting several links per post. Their post contain links that discuss cybersecurity, updates on standard setting activities, and company culture and its implications for an audit. Also on Twitter they post key pictures of what have been said throughout the meetings they have. Personally, I do not have a Twitter account so on my opinion of things, I think they are using Twitter to the best of their ability. I would keep most of the business postings on Linkedin because Linkedin you can put in much more words and explain what the meetings are about. Twitter I would keep what they have been doing by posting the links as tweets. These links can be either links to their website or videos the conference they have. Audit professionals can use Twitter to see a snapshot of how the company presents their updates. Twitter may not allow many characters or words but if a key phrase is put on twitter and a link follows that phrase, they can click on the link to figure out further information about that phrase or tweet. Again, this is another method on how auditors can learn and grow with the company.

Linkedin is a social media platform that has a variety of uses but their main objective is to help individuals find jobs. The profile aspect of Linkedin is to put a name to a face when employers choose candidates for interviews. Linkedin has similar features to Facebook where users can post status updates. Usually businesses use the status updates to include updates on what is happening with their company. The PCAOB uses Linkedin in order to reach those who have a professional business profile on their website. On their main page it starts off by stating an “about us” segment. The PCAOB Linkedin page also has a link that users can click on to see the available job postings in the area. What is also useful is that the Linkedin page shows a list of the employees that work there. They headline it with the CEO, CFO, etc. Also they have a link to their exact website on the Linkedin page. Audit professionals can use this social media platform to advance their careers by using this as a means of networking. Networking is communicating with those who you would potentially want to work with. Learning about the company before an interview is key to landing a position. Going through a company’s Linkedin page helps the interviewee learn as much as they can before going on the interview besides going on a company’s main website. Audit professionals can learn more about a job or their job by connecting with the Linkedin page so that they gain as much knowledge as possible about current updates about the company.

Good company in a journey makes the way seem shorter. — Izaak Walton