About Cathy Allen

Cathy Allen, CPA, principal of Audit Conduct, helps professionals understand their ethical responsibilities via consultation and training. Cathy was a Managing Director at PwC and served as staff to the AICPA Professional Ethics Executive Committee (PEEC) where she was instrumental in developing standards and tools for the profession. As a consultant, she helped lead the project to restructure the AICPA’s Code of Professional Conduct.  Cathy serves on the National Association of State Boards of Accountancy’s Board of Directors, chairs its Ethics Committee and is a member of PEEC. She served on the NYS Board for Public Accountancy for eight years.

Clients/Former Clients

Some of the clients Audit Conduct serves or has served include: 

  • American Institute of CPAs (AICPA) 
  • Arkansas State Board of Public Accountancy
  • BerryDunn, LLC
  • BDO, LLP (formerly BDO Seidman, LLP) 
  • Bowers & Company, CPAs, PLLC
  • Briggs & Veselka Co.
  • Cherry, Bekaert & Holland, LLC (now Cherry Bekaert, LLC)
  • CliftonLarsonAllen, LLC (previously Clifton Gunderson, LLP)
  • CPAacademy.org
  • Elliott Davis, LLC (previously Elliott Davis Decosimo, LLC) 
  • KPMG, LLP
  • Lurie, LLP (previously Lurie, Besikof, Lapidus & Co, LLP )
  • Marcum, LLP
  • MarksNelson, LLC
  • McGladrey & Pullen, LLP (now RSM US, LLP)
  • MSL CPAs &Advisors
  • National Credit Union Administration (NCUA) 
  • New York State Society of CPAs - Foundation for Accounting Education (FAE)
  • PricewaterhouseCoopers - Canada
  • Rea & Associates, Inc.
  • Rehmann Robson, LLC
  • Richey May & Co., LLP

What Clients Say

I really appreciate having Cathy Allen as a resource and sounding board on independence matters. It’s great to have such an experienced independent consultant to call upon for fresh perspectives and sound advice when unique or challenging issues arise.
Anita Ford, CPA, CFE
Chief Practice Officer-Clifton Gunderson
I have worked with Cathy Allen over the years – initially while she was a Senior Manager in the Ethics Division of the AICPA and I was a member of the AICPA Professional Ethics Executive Committee and, more recently, as an independent consultant after she started her own business, Audit Conduct. Cathy not only has deep knowledge of the ethical and independence standards governing the public accounting profession – she know how to explain them in plain English. She has been an excellent resource to our firm, helping us communicate our independence and ethical policies more clearly and effectively to our professional staff. In each case, she has delivered quality products to our firm on time and on budget
Bruce Webb
Executive Partner, National Office of Audit and Accounting-McGladrey & Pullen, LLP
We’ve worked with Cathy twice over the years. She is competent and professional. I look forward to working with her in the future.
Larry Shapiro
National Independence Director-BDO Seidman, LLP
Cathy has worked on various ethics-related projects for the AICPA Professional Ethics Division. She is diligent, meets all deadlines and produces quality work products. I would recommend Cathy for all aspects of ethics related matters.
Lisa A. Snyder, CPA
Director-Professional Ethics Division, AICPA
Knowledgeable, thorough, accurate.
Howard Wilensky, CPA, CFE, CGMA
Partner, Lurie, LLP
I first met Cathy when she was Senior Manager at the AICPA and I was a member of the AICPA Professional Ethics Executive Committee. I had the opportunity to work with Cathy on some technical projects including the “modernization” of the AICPA independence rules back in 2001. Through those interactions I gained an immediate appreciation for her knowledge of the independence rules. Currently our firms uses Cathy as our outside independence consultant. Cathy has been very responsive to our inquiries which is greatly appreciated as often these are very time sensitive. She is a valuable resource for consulting on AICPA, DOL and SEC/PCAOB independence topics. We appreciate her perspective as someone who is outside of our firm.
Chris Piché , CPA
Managing Principal, Ethics; CliftonLarsonAllen, LLC
I had the pleasure of working with Cathy Allen in connection with her engagement as an expert witness. The case involved novel issues of ethical standards to be applied to accountants. We also were under strict time pressure. Cathy was resourceful and provided a prompt, thorough and thoughtful analysis of the issues. She was a real asset and I would not hesitate to use her services again.
Peter Goodman
Smith, Gambrell & Russell, LLP