AU Section 9380

Communication With Audit Committees: Auditing Interpretations of Section 380

1.    Applicability of Section 380

.01

Question—Section 380, Communication With Audit Committees, requires the auditor to determine that certain matters related to the conduct of an audit are communicated to those who have responsibility for oversight of the financial reporting process. Paragraph .01 indicates that the section is applicable to "(1) entities that either have an audit committee or that have otherwise formally designated oversight of the financial reporting process to a group equivalent to an audit committee (such as a finance committee or budget committee) and (2) all Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) engagements." ^fn 1

.02

When a non-SEC client has no designated group equivalent to an audit committee with formal responsibility for the financial reporting process, does the auditor have a responsibility to communicate section 380 matters to the governing or oversight body or person(s)?

.03

Interpretation—No. If a governing or oversight body, such as a board of directors or a board of trustees, has not established an audit committee or formally designated a group with equivalent responsibility for the financial reporting process, the auditor is not required to make the communications. Similarly, the auditor has no responsibility to communicate section 380 matters if the client has no governing or oversight body (for example, a small owner-managed entity). However, the auditor is not precluded from communicating any or all matters described in section 380 in such cases.

[Issue Date: August, 1993.]