Final answer:
The Sarbanes-Oxley Act stipulates that d. public accounting firms may offer nonaudit services to their audit clients only with prior approval from the audit committee, which was a response to the accounting scandals of the early 2000s to improve audit integrity and investor confidence.
Step-by-step explanation:
The primary change made by the Sarbanes-Oxley Act that affects the practice of public accounting is: d. Public accounting firms may provide some nonaudit services to their audit clients if the services are approved in advance by an audit committee.
The Sarbanes-Oxley Act was enacted in response to a series of major accounting scandals involving corporations like Enron and WorldCom, with the intention of protecting investors from accounting fraud. This legislation aimed to increase confidence in the financial information that public corporations report.
To achieve this, the Act contains provisions that restrict the types of services public accounting firms can offer to their audit clients, thereby seeking to enhance the reliability and integrity of audits.
One significant restriction is related to nonaudit services; these services can only be provided by a firm to its audit clients if such services do not undermine auditor independence and are preapproved by the client's audit committee.
This ensures a separation between the audit and nonaudit functions, reducing the potential for conflicts of interest and increasing audit objectivity.