The Panel of Audit Effectiveness has issued its final report on the effectiveness of independent audits of public companies, recommending tighter procedures and calling for a unified system of governance under the Public Oversight Board, which watches over the AICPA's Securities and Exchange Commission practice section. The report, available at www.pobauditpanel.org, recommends a tougher peer review process of audit practices and calls for auditors to conduct "forensic-type" procedures on every audit. Shaun O'Malley, the chairman of the panel, has noted that while significant reform is required in the conduct of audits and the governance of the profession, "both the profession and the quality of its audits are fundamentally sound."