[The following paragraph was effective for audits of fiscal years beginning before December 15, 2014. See  PCAOB Release No. 2014-002 for audits of fiscal years beginning on or after December 15, 2014, or return to the current version.]

11.      As part of obtaining an understanding of the company as required by paragraph 7, the auditor should consider performing the following procedures and the extent to which the procedures should be performed:

 

• Reading public information about the company relevant to the evaluation of the likelihood of material financial statement misstatements and, in an integrated audit, the effectiveness of the company's internal control over financial reporting, e.g., company-issued press releases, company-prepared presentation materials for analysts or investor groups, and analyst reports;
• Observing or reading transcripts of earnings calls and, to the extent publicly available, other meetings with investors or rating agencies;
• Obtaining an understanding of compensation arrangements with senior management, including incentive compensation arrangements, changes or adjustments to those arrangements, and special bonuses; and
• Obtaining information about trading activity in the company's securities and holdings in the company's securities by significant holders to identify potentially significant unusual developments (e.g., from Forms 3, 4, 5, 13D, and 13G).