Audit Focus Points a Lens on Audit Committee Communications

Today, the PCAOB released a staff publication, “Audit Focus: Audit Committee Communications.”

Audit Focus is a series of PCAOB staff publications that aims to provide brief and actionable insights for auditors, especially those who audit smaller public companies. With an eye toward protecting investors and improving audit quality, each edition of Audit Focus reiterates applicable auditing standards and staff guidance and offers reminders and good practices tailored to PCAOB-registered auditors of smaller public companies.

PCAOB staff continues to identify a large number of deficiencies related to auditor communications with audit committees. This edition of Audit Focus highlights:

• Reminders regarding communications related to (1) the use of other participants during the audit, (2) overall audit strategy and select audit results, and (3) other specific matters that are required by PCAOB standards and rules.
• Common deficiencies that staff has observed related to required communications, such as auditors not communicating to audit committees all critical accounting policies and practices used by the public company.
• Good practices that the staff has observed related to audit committee communications, such as use of structured templates – and providing guidance on completing those templates.

Visit the PCAOB’s Staff Publications page for more resources on the PCAOB's activities and observations.

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About the PCAOB

The PCAOB is a nonprofit corporation established by Congress to oversee the audits of public companies in order to protect investors and further the public interest in the preparation of informative, accurate, and independent audit reports. The PCAOB also oversees the audits of brokers and dealers registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including compliance reports filed pursuant to federal securities laws.