The Public Company Accounting Oversight Board’s Office of the Investor Advocate (OIAD) has issued an Investor Bulletin (OIAD Bulletin) describing PCAOB resources that investors “may consider as they engage with audit committees concerning the audit committees’ dialogues with their independent auditors.”
The OIAD Bulletin states that, since “effective and informed audit committees can be a force for elevating audit quality,” investors may consider “outreach to audit committees to discuss the audit committees’ audit oversight.” The Bulletin points specifically to three documents:
Spotlight: Audit Committee Resource. This paper, released in 2023, includes questions that the audit committee may wish to ask the company’s auditor during the audit. See So Many Questions: PCAOB Suggests Questions Audit Committees Should Ask, July 2023 Update. The OIAD Bulletin highlights questions on auditing and accounting risk, audit firm independence, and critical audit matters.
Spotlight: Staff Update and Preview of 2022 Inspection Observations. This staff Spotlight lists questions that audit committees should consider as they review inspection findings. See 2022 PCAOB Inspections Preview, June-July 2022 Update. The OIAD Bulletin highlights questions regarding whether the company’s audit engagement has been inspected; if so, audit areas that required significant discussions with the PCAOB; and the results of inspections of other audit engagements headed by the company’s engagement partner.
Spotlight: Staff Priorities for 2024 Inspections and Interactions With Audit Committees. The 2024 staff priorities report suggests eleven inspection-related questions that audit committee members may want to consider or discuss with their auditor. See PCAOB 2024 Inspection Priorities: More Inspections and a Focus on Firm Culture, January 2024 Update.
The OIAD Bulletin concludes with this observation: “Overall, investors may consider inquiring of audit committees whether they are engaging in such discussions in their oversight of independent auditors, and if they are not, to encourage audit committees to do so.” Audit committees, in turn, should be aware that investors may use the OIAD Bulletin as a source for questions to pose to the committee.
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