Abuse of Audit Committee Auditor Selection Process Triggers an Independence Violation
The Securities and Exchange Commission has charged Ernst & Young (EY) and three of its former partners with violations of the auditor...
SEC Takes a Dim View of Sugar-Coating Cybersecurity Breaches
On August 16, the Securities and Exchange Commission announced an enforcement action against Pearson plc, a company that provides...
The S&P 500 Are (Almost) All in on ESG Disclosure
The Center for Audit Quality (CAQ) has published S&P 500 and ESG Reporting, a study of S&P 500 company environmental, social, and...
The Auditor’s Responsibilities for Detecting Illegal Client Acts
The Center for Audit Quality has released, Illegal Acts: The External Auditor’s Responsibilities. This publication provides an overview...
Accounting Quality Alarm Bell: Changes in Accounting Estimates
In a recent blog post, research and data provider Audit Analytics notes that changes in accounting estimates (CAEs) “can be a significant...
The SEC’s Agenda – ESG Tops the List
On June 11, the Office of Management and Budget’s Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs released the Spring 2021 Unified Agenda of...
Protiviti: Companies are Spending More Time and Money on SOX Compliance
Consulting firm Protiviti has released the 2021 edition of its annual survey of Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX) compliance costs, SOX Compliance...
How Audit Committees Can Maximize Their Value
Tapestry Networks (“Tapestry”), a professional services company that “enables senior leaders from the public and private sector to engage...
Experience Counts – It Helps to Have an Accountant on the Audit Committee
Recent academic studies examine the consequences of two aspects of audit committee membership – accounting expertise and committee chair...
CAQ Analyses the Value of the Audit
The Center for Audit Quality has published Value of the Audit: A Brief History and the Path Forward. Value of the Audit provides an...
The State of Sustainability Assurance: It Varies
The International Federation of Accountants (IFAC) and the Association of International Certified Professional Accountants (Association),...
How Does ESG Affect Accounting and Financial Reporting?
Deloitte has released Do ESG Matters Affect Accounting and Financial Reporting Today?, a brief primer on potential effects of...
The Housecleaning at the PCAOB: Why it Matters
On June 16, I was a guest on Tom Selman’s podcast, Two Minutes with Tom. We discussed the SEC’s decision to replace the members of the...
SEC Removes the Chair and Plans to Clean House at the PCAOB
On June 4, the SEC announced that it had removed William Duhnke from his position as Chair of the Public Company Accounting Oversight...
CAQ Issues an Alert on SPACs
The Center for Audit Quality (CAQ) has released Auditor and Audit Committee Considerations Relating to Special Purpose Acquisition...
The IIA Urges that Internal Audit Play a Key Role in ESG Strategy
The Institute of Internal Auditors has released a White Paper entitled Internal Audit’s Role in ESG Reporting. The paper discusses risks...
CAQ Provides an Overview of Amendments to the Auditor Independence Rules
In Amendments to SEC Independence Rules, an Alert issued on June 10, the Center for Audit Quality (CAQ) summarizes recent amendments to...
Survey Finds that Audit Fees are Expected to Rise in 2021
According to the results of a survey conducted by research and advisory firm Gartner, Inc., respondents expect external audit fees to...
Climate Change is Rapidly Becoming an SEC Priority
The SEC is signaling that disclosure concerning climate change, and ESG issues broadly, will be a priority in 2021. New SEC Chair Gary...
PCAOB Releases 2021 Inspections Outlook and Audit Committee/Auditor Dialogue Tool
On April 6, the PCAOB released Spotlight: Staff Outlook for 2021 Inspections (2021 Outlook). This annual publication outlines areas the...