Accounting Support Fee: Scheme of Independent Funding for U.S. Accounting and Audit Regulators

The issue of funding as an integral part of the problem of ensuring regulatory accounting and auditing bodies independence, have appeared in scientific research relatively recently. The previous funding model, mainly based on voluntary contributions, became obsolete, and modern circumstances required up-to-date solutions that would ensure greater independence of regulators. It were the USA that leaded this process where upon entry into force of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act in 2002 a scheme was introduced of independent financing of accounting regulators. The article, mainly by way of historical and monographic methods, has studied legislative and regulatory framework as well as the methodology of calculation and collection of accounting support fee in the United States. The brief characteristic of the U.S. accounting and auditing regulators has been done. The fee administration mechanism and the dynamics of its volumes for the whole period of its existence have been disclosed. The average load on the accounting support fee payers has been determined. It has been emphasized that versatility, simplicity and efficiency of such accounting and audit regulators financing scheme proves the possibility of this scheme application in other jurisdictions.