backOn April 27, 2026, the PCAOB Staff published a “Spotlight” titled 2025 Conversations with Audit Committee Chairs. The publication highlights the Staff’s observations and conclusions from conversations held with more than 250 audit committee chairs in 2025 related to 2024 financial statement audits. As part of its conversations with audit committee chairs, the Staff inquired about (i) the state of the relationships between audit committees and audit firms, as well as key drivers making those relationships more effective; (ii) methods used for assessing the external audit firms; (iii) the role of PCAOB inspection reports; (iv) the process for pre-approval of audit and non-audit services; (v) fraud concerns; (vi) quality control considerations; (vii) the nature and extent of discussion regarding critical audit matters; and (viii) the technology risks or matters audit committees discussed with their auditor, including the potential impact of AI. The Spotlight provides the Staff’s key takeaways for each topic.
The Spotlight is available here.