AUDIT COMMITTEE AND AUDITOR OVERSIGHT UPDATE

The Center for Audit Quality (CAQ) has released an updated version of its External Auditor Assessment Tool: A Tool for US Audit Committees . Audit committees are responsible for evaluating the external auditor, at least annually, and making a recommendation to the board on whether to retain the auditor. The assessment tool is designed to assist audit committees in performing this evaluation. The CAQ originally issued the U.S. assessment tool, along with a companion worldwide

Oversight of the risks and opportunities presented by artificial intelligence (AI) is one of the key challenges facing audit committees.  From March to June 2025, Tapestry Networks (Tapestry) convened six in-person meetings of its U.S. audit committee network to discuss the role of the board in ensuring that AI is implemented responsibly and consistent with long-term value creation. Tapestry’s audit committee network, which is organized and supported by Ernst & Young, is a gr

Public company audit fees rose to record levels last year. Ideagen Audit Analytics’ (IAA) annual analysis of fees paid to external auditors reports that, in FY2024, the average public company’s total payments to its auditor rose to $3.26 million, a nine percent increase from 2023.  See Audit fee trends: A 20-year review  (September 2025).  Average fees rose for the third consecutive year in 2024, a trend that IAA attributes to “the increasing complexity and regulatory demands

The Governance & Accountability Institute (G&AI) has released 2025 Sustainability Reporting In Focus , the fourteenth edition of its annual series tracking sustainability reporting. The report analyzes trends in sustainability reporting by companies in the S&P 500 and Russell 1000 indices.  In a press release  announcing the 2025 report, G&AI says that its research “shows continued increases in sustainability reporting for both large-cap and mid-cap U.S. public companies -- a

At the urging of President Trump, the Securities and Exchange Commission will consider whether to eliminate quarterly reporting. In a social media post on September 15, the President said, “Subject to SEC Approval, Companies and Corporations should no longer be forced to ‘Report’ on a quarterly basis (Quarterly Reporting!), but rather to Report on a ‘Six (6) Month Basis.’” He asserted that semi-annual reporting would allow management to “focus on properly running their compan