Cotton, Hill Introduce Bill to Defend Arkansas Small Investment Firms Against Costly Regulations

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Tatum Wallace or Hannah McCarthy September 22, 2026 Cotton, Hill Introduce Bill to Defend Arkansas Small Investment Firms Against Costly Regulations WASHINGTON —Senator Tom Cotton (R-Arkansas) and Representative French Hill (Arkansas-02) introduced the Small Business Audit Corrections Act, which would exempt small investment firms from hiring the same expensive Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB)-registered audit firms that large Wall Street banks use. Under current law, every investment firm, no matter its size, must pay for a Wall Street-grade audit, an expense that has driven small firms in states like Arkansas out of business. “Washington wrote this rule for Wall Street and then applied it to small firms on Main Street. Our bill would eliminate this one-size-fits-all requirement to ensure investment firms in Arkansas are no longer punished for their size and are instead given the chance to grow and succeed in a friendlier business environment,” said Senator Cotton . “When we discuss regulatory relief in the financial services industry, the focus often falls on community banks. But small, privately held broker-dealers deserve that same attention. These firms serve as a gateway to the capital markets for Main Street businesses, yet they remain burdened by costly, one-size-fits-all audit requirements. That’s why I’m pleased to lead the House effort behind the Small Business Audit Correction Act , which will provide targeted relief for small broker-dealers in good standing, allowing them to devote more resources to growing their businesses and serving their customers,” said Representative Hill. Text of the bill can be found here . The Small Business Audit Corrections Act would: Exempt privately held, small non-custodial brokers and dealers in good standing from the requirement to hire a Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB)-registered audit firm to meet their annual SEA Rule 17a-5 reporting obligation and would instead reinstate the previous regulatory audit requirements. ###