Former AICPA Auditing Standards Board Chair will provide external perspective on audit quality as the venture-backed startup builds its practice, just months after launch

CHICAGO, Oct. 29, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Oath Verified, a financial technology startup modernizing financial auditing, today announced its audit practice, Oath CPAs PLLC, has created a Quality Advisory Board. Sara Lord, an audit leader who helped shape the profession’s standards, will serve as its founding member. In a rare move for an early-stage company, Oath voluntarily formed the board just months after launching.

Much of finance is now automated, from processing payments to producing financial reports, while verification remains largely manual. Oath brings automation to auditing so businesses can have greater confidence in their numbers. The technology connects directly to companies’ financial systems to verify records throughout the year, while licensed CPAs evaluate the evidence, apply professional judgment, and sign off on each audit.

“A new way of auditing has to earn trust,” said Lucas Ward, founder and CEO of Oath Verified. “We’re building technology to check the numbers alongside the systems producing them, with experienced auditors responsible for the judgment calls. Bringing Sara in early gives us someone who has helped write the profession’s standards and knows what it takes to put them into practice.”

Oath’s approach to technology changes how auditors gather and check information while preserving the independent judgment that makes an audit valuable. The new board will provide external perspectives on Oath’s audit methods and quality management, helping the firm consider how new ways of working meet the profession’s standards.

“Technology is changing how audits are done. That makes professional judgment and a strong quality management system more important, not less,” said Lord. “Oath is building quality into the firm from the ground up. I’m glad to help advise the firm as it grows.”

Lord’s appointment adds to a team of established audit professionals working alongside financial technology builders. Christina Ho, Oath’s Chief Assurance Officer, previously served on the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB), the regulator overseeing audits of public companies. Her experience shaping audit policy and examining how the profession can modernize informs Oath’s approach to quality. AI Audit Lead Asma Surani brings experience as a senior manager at EY and in assurance leadership at BDO. They work alongside Ward, a co-founder of insurance company Kin.

“We ask businesses to recognize the value of an independent perspective on their work, and we believe the same applies to us,” said Ho. “We have an opportunity to show how the profession can embrace new technology while strengthening the principles that make its work trustworthy. Sara’s perspective will help us put those principles into practice as we build Oath.”

Lord brings nearly 30 years of public accounting experience spanning the development of audit standards and their application in practice. She previously chaired the AICPA’s Auditing Standards Board, which sets auditing standards for U.S. private companies, and served as Chief Auditor of RSM US LLP, where she led audit methodology and oversaw quality management and audit technology. She also served on RSM’s Board of Directors and the PCAOB’s Standards and Emerging Issues Advisory Group. She holds the NACD Directorship Certification.

Lord is the first appointment to the Quality Advisory Board, which will advise Oath CPAs PLLC, the separate legal entity that provides Oath’s audit services. The firm launched its audit practice on May 28, 2026, bringing Oath’s technology and the judgment of licensed CPAs together to serve businesses.

About Oath Verified

Oath Verified checks the numbers businesses run on. Built on a financial proof platform, Oath verifies company data alongside the systems producing the numbers. Founded by Kin co-founder Lucas Ward, with former PCAOB board member Christina Ho leading assurance, Oath pairs fintech builders with audit policy veterans to serve venture and private equity funds, employee benefit plans, nonprofits, and private companies. Audit services are provided by Oath CPAs PLLC, a separate legal entity licensed to practice public accounting in 49 states, with New York approval pending. Based in Chicago, IL, Oath is backed by Rackhouse Venture Capital, M25, Chicago Ventures, and Nameless Ventures. Learn more at https://www.oathverified.com/

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SOURCE Oath Verified