PCAOB Charges Five Firms with Audit Committee Communications Failures
On July 28, the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board announced settled disciplinary orders sanctioning five audit firms for...
Advice for Audit Committee Chairs on Conducting Special Investigations
Audit committee chairs are often tasked with conducting investigations of suspected financial frauds, corrupt payments, or other...
IAASB Issues Proposed Sustainability Auditing Standard
On August 2, the International Auditing and Assurance Standards Board (IAASB) issued Proposed International Standard on Sustainability...
A New Auditor is Likely to Charge Less, But Miss More Financial Statement Errors
A study conducted by three researchers at the University of Texas at Austin finds that, when companies change auditors, the new auditor...
2022 PCAOB Inspections Preview Says 40 Percent of Audits Reviewed Had Deficiencies
The staff of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board anticipates that approximately 40 percent of the audits inspected in 2022 will...
So Many Questions: PCAOB Suggests Questions Audit Committees Should Ask
The PCAOB staff has issued its 2023 list of questions to aid audit committees in communicating with their auditors. Spotlight: Audit...
SEC Accounting Enforcement Continues Apace
In its annual summary of SEC enforcement activity, Cornerstone Research found a sharp increase during the past year in SEC actions...
Digital Assets: Next Steps on the Audit Committee’s Journey
The Center for Audit Quality (CAQ) has released Continuing Your Digital Assets Journey: A Tool for Audit Committees (May 2023). This...
What is Audit Quality? The CAQ Updates its Disclosure Framework
The Center for Audit Quality (CAQ) has published a disclosure framework (Framework) to assist accounting firms in determining, assessing,...
KPMG Finds that Audit Committees Are Feeling the Effects of Increased Complexity
KPMG has released the results of a global survey of audit committee members. Seventy-four percent of the U.S. respondents identified...
ISSB Issues its Inaugural Disclosure Standards
On June 26, the International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB) issued its first two sustainability standards – IFRS S1 (General...
SEC Approves Claw Back Listing Standards
On June 9, the SEC approved New York Stock Exchange and Nasdaq Stock Market listing standards requiring listed companies to have a policy...
2023 PCAOB Inspections Will Prioritize Fraud, Financial Services, and Crypto
The PCAOB’s inspection staff has released Spotlight: Staff Priorities for 2023 Inspections (Spotlight), its annual preview of the current...
PCAOB Proposes Expanded Auditor Responsibility for Financial Statement Fairness and Legal Compliance
The Public Company Accounting Oversight Board has issued two sets of proposed revisions to the public company auditing standards. These...
Accounting Class Actions are Increasing Slowly While SEC Accounting Cases are Skyrocketing
Cornerstone Research has issued two reports on litigation involving accounting and auditing violations. In its annual report on...
Commissioner Uyeda Discusses the SEC’s Focus on Accounting
In a recent speech, SEC Commissioner Mark T. Uyeda discussed the SEC’s focus on accounting violations. See Remarks at ICAEW Event –...
PCAOB Adds Audit Quality Indicators to its Short-Term Agenda
On May 16, the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board announced that its staff had posted to the Board’s website a revised...
Pointers on the Audit Committee’s Role in Ethics and Compliance Oversight
As part of its “On the audit committee’s agenda” series, the Deloitte Center for Board Effectiveness has released Who’s in charge: The...
Avoiding Awkward Silences: FRC Has Conversation Starters for Investor-Audit Committee Dialogue
The UK’s Financial Reporting Council (FRC) has announced the launch of a web page “aimed at promoting better engagement between investors...
If You Want Assurance Over Your ESG Disclosures, Hire a CPA
As corporate environment, social, and governance (ESG) disclosures have increased, more companies are seeking third-party assurance over...