On September 28, 2023, the PCAOB staff published a “Spotlight” titled 2022 Conversations with Audit Committee Chairs. The publication highlights the Staff’s observations and conclusions from conversations held with 211 audit committee chairs in 2022 related to the 2021 audit of their company’s financial statements. Among other things, the Staff observes that audit committee chairs remain mindful of the impact that staffing turnover and remote/hybrid work environments can have on the audit process. Additionally, the Staff asserts that audit committee chairs value early and ongoing communication with auditors and are increasingly interested in discussing the inclusion of non-GAAP measures with their auditors. The Spotlight also notes that a small percentage of audit committee chairs questioned whether reporting for critical audit matters is becoming a generic compliance exercise.

 

The PCAOB’s Spotlight is available here.