What is COSO? What is the PCAOB?  Why are they important?

Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Tread way Commission (COSO) is an organization formed to reduce corporate fraud. It was formed in United States by five private sector organizations. It established common internal controls to which companies can measure their performance of internal controls.

Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB) is a not for profit organization created under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002. It was created to regulate the audits of public corporations in order to protect the interests of investors so that they can make rational economic decisions. It oversees the audits of dealers and brokers as well.