Yikes! What is going on at the PCAOB? You may recall that, back in 2018, former staffers at the PCAOB and former partners of KPMG were charged by the SEC in connection with “their participation in a scheme to misappropriate...more
In this report, Critical Audit Matters: Public company adaptation to enhanced auditor reporting, Intelligize examines data from a survey, conducted by SourceMediaResearch/Accounting Today, of 171 compliance specialists at...more
The PCAOB has just released a new resource for audit committees about critical audit matters, designed to “inform audit committees as they engage with their auditors on the new CAM requirements.” The new auditing standard for...more
An article in the Federal Securities Law Reporter reports on some tips gleaned from a discussion of, what else, “critical audit matters” on a PCAOB panel at PLI’s 34th Midyear SEC Reporting and FASB Forum. The new auditing...more
Under PCAOB Rule 3520, the auditor “must be independent of the firm’s audit client throughout the audit and professional engagement period,” which includes satisfying the independence criteria of the SEC and the PCAOB. But...more
The PCAOB has just published new guidance on auditors’ communication of critical audit matters in the auditor’s report. The guidance includes some new FAQs related to how auditors should describe their principal...more
Coming soon to a financial statement near you: CAMs! Late this summer, in audit reports for large accelerated filers with June 30 fiscal year ends, auditors will begin to disclose “critical audit matters.” Under the new...more
In this PCAOB staff inspection brief, issued at the end of last week, the PCAOB discusses its new strategic plan, which includes conducting “an ongoing dialogue” with audit committee chairs when their companies’ audits are...more
As you may recall, auditors of large accelerated filers will be required to report on CAMs—critical audit matters—in their auditor’s reports for fiscal years ending on or after June 30, 2019 and in auditor’s reports for all...more
The Center for Audit Quality, working with Audit Analytics, has just released a new edition of its annual Audit Committee Transparency Barometer, which, over the past five years, has measured the robustness of audit committee...more
Here’s a reminder from the SEC: interim financial statements included in Forms 10-Q are required to be “reviewed” by outside auditors. On Friday, in a first enforcement proceeding of its kind, the SEC announced charges...more
In October 2017, the SEC approved the PCAOB’s new auditing standard for the auditor’s report, AS 3101, The Auditor’s Report on an Audit of Financial Statements When the Auditor Expresses an Unqualified Opinion, which will...more
It’s certainly a rare event, but both ISS and Glass Lewis have recommended voting against a proposal to ratify the appointment of GE’s auditor, KPMG at the GE annual shareholders meeting. Most often, the issue of auditor...more
Recent civil and criminal fraud charges against partners at KPMG and staffers at the PCAOB, arising out of “their participation in a scheme to misappropriate and use confidential information relating to the PCAOB’s planned...more
On January 22, 2018, the SEC filed charges against six CPAs, including former staffers at the PCAOB and former partners of KPMG, arising out of “their participation in a scheme to misappropriate and use confidential...more
In what were surely unprepared remarks to the American Institute of CPAs conference on SEC and PCAOB developments, as reported by Bloomberg BNA, SEC Chair Jay “the Dude” Clayton commented on the impact he expects the new form...more
Yesterday, the SEC approved the PCAOB’s proposed rules requiring changes to the auditor’s report, AS 3101, The Auditor’s Report on an Audit of Financial Statements When the Auditor Expresses an Unqualified Opinion, along with...more
With the SEC now considering whether to approve AS 3101, the PCAOB’s new enhanced disclosure requirement for the auditor’s report, and SEC concept releases and other disclosure projects still hovering in the ether, there...more
Remember Form AP? That’s the form that the PCAOB is now requiring audit firms to use to name individual audit engagement partners. The form will also disclose the names and Firm IDs, locations and extent of participation of...more
On June 1, 2017, as anticipated, the PCAOB adopted, subject to SEC approval, a new auditing standard for the auditor’s report that, while retaining the usual pass/fail opinion, will require auditors to include a discussion of...more
Welcome to the future! On Wednesday, the House Republicans (with five Democratic votes) passed H.R. 5, the Regulatory Accountability Act of 2017, a bill that would change the way federal agencies issue regulations and...more
With Congress and the Presidency soon in Republican control, look for the Financial CHOICE Act (or perhaps an enhanced version) to be re-introduced in the next Congress. The bill, sponsored by Jeb Hensarling, Chair of the...more
At a meeting yesterday of the PCAOB’s Investor Advisory Group, two working groups reported on topics that might be of particular interest: non-GAAP financial measures and enhanced audit reports.
Non-GAAP Financial...more
With the PCAOB likely to adopt some form of enhanced disclosure requirement for the auditor’s report, and the SEC contemplating the addition of a number of disclosure mandates for audit committees, there seems to be a slow...more
When the PCAOB originally floated the idea of an expanded audit report in 2011, the proposal fueled quite a controversy. Supporters of the concept contended that the current form of the auditor’s report was just boilerplate...more