US Court To Review Anti-fraud Law

The Free Enterprise Fund, an anti-tax group, has been leading the challenge. Beckstead & Watts LLP, an accounting firm based in Henderson, Nev., that specializes in audits of small public companies, also is a plaintiff in the case. The oversight board inspected the firm in 2004 for compliance with Sarbanes-Oxley and launched a disciplinary investigation based on that review, which identified eight audits that said the firm didn't obtain sufficient evidence to support its opinion on its clients' financial statements.

"I am thrilled to learn today that the Supreme Court has accepted our case against the PCAOB," managing partner Brad Beckstead said in a statement on the firm's Web site. "The costs to comply with (Sarbanes-Oxley) are a 'barrier to entry' for small entrepreneurial and developing companies. We must continue to fight against the burdens of overregulation on small business and hold the PCAOB accountable to the public."

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Associated Press writer Mark Sherman contributed to this report.