Paul Munter, who has served as acting chief accountant at the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) since January 2021, was appointed chief accountant on Wednesday.

As chief accountant, Munter will continue to lead the Office of the Chief Accountant and serve as the principal advisor to the SEC on accounting and auditing matters. He also will be responsible for assisting the SEC on matters involving both the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) and the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB).

“I’ve valued Paul’s counsel, judgment, and clear accounting advice in his service as Acting Chief Accountant, and I thank him for continuing in the role as Chief Accountant,” SEC Chair Gary Gensler said in a written statement. “The Office of the Chief Accountant performs critical work to ensure that investors have access to the highest-quality financial disclosures from public companies. Under Paul’s leadership, I am confident that the office will continue in advancing this mandate.”

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Munter said he is “honored to continue to serve the agency working on behalf of investors and to lead the talented, experienced, and dedicated staff of the Office of the Chief Accountant.”

“I look forward to continuing to support work that improves the quality of financial reporting and auditing domestically and internationally. I also look forward to continuing our important work with constituents involved in the preparation, auditing, and use of financial information, and the critical oversight work of the commission with respect to the FASB and the PCAOB as those bodies work to improve accounting and auditing standards for the benefit of investors,” he added.

Munter joined the SEC in 2019 as deputy chief accountant, leading the Office of the Chief Accountant’s international work. Before joining the agency, Munter was a senior instructor of accounting at the University of Colorado in Boulder. He had previously retired from KPMG, where he served as the lead technical partner for the U.S. firm’s international accounting and International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) activities and served on the firm’s panel responsible for establishing firm positions on the application of IFRS.

Munter earned his Ph.D. in accounting from the University of Colorado and received his bachelor of science and master of science degrees in accounting from Fresno State University. He is a licensed CPA in Colorado, New York, and Florida.