Alan Wilson at WilmerHale

PCAOB Staff Inspection Brief Highlights Areas of Focus During 2017 Inspections

The staff of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board recently published a Staff Inspection Brief regarding its 2017 inspections of registered audit firms. As described in the corresponding news release, the goal of the...more

10/3/2017 / Accounting Standards , Auditors , Audits , Information Reports , PCAOB , Reporting Requirements

2017 EY Survey Reports Steady Increase in Voluntary Audit-Related Disclosures

In its sixth annual report on voluntary audit committee reporting to shareholders, Ernst & Young observed “similar increases in voluntary audit-related disclosure as in the past several years, with steady growth in certain...more

8/18/2017 / Audit Committee , Audits , Corporate Governance , Ernst & Young , Financial Reporting , Proxy Statements , Public Disclosure , Surveys , Voluntary Disclosure

SEC Chief Accountant Offers Guidance to Audit Committees

SEC Chief Accountant Wesley Bricker recently delivered another speech in which he discussed current issues in financial reporting and highlighted the critical roles that auditors, audit committees and audit regulation play in...more

7/19/2017 / Audit Committee , Financial Reporting , New Guidance , PCAOB , Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)

PCAOB Adopts Enhanced Auditor Reporting Standard

On June 1, the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board unanimously adopted a revised auditing standard governing the contents and form of the audit report delivered by registered public accounting firms as part of their...more

6/5/2017 / Auditors , Disclosure Requirements , Financial Statements , New Rules , PCAOB , U.S. Treasury

SEC Chief Accountant Discusses Audit Committee Effectiveness, Other Current Topics

In a pair of recent speeches, SEC Chief Accountant Wesley Bricker discussed the critical role audit committees play in the financial reporting process, explored current challenges confronting audit committees, and offered...more

5/5/2017 / Audit Committee , Corporate Governance , Financial Reporting , ICFR , Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)

KPMG Issues 2017 Global Audit Committee Pulse Survey

Recently, KPMG released its 2017 Global Audit Committee Pulse Survey, which reports on audit committee activities based on survey responses from 800 audit committee members across 42 countries. Asking, "Is Everything Under...more

2/24/2017 / Audit Committee , Corporate Governance , Financial Reporting , Internal Controls , International Financial Reporting Standards , KPMG , Non-GAAP Financial Measures

Regulators Discuss Accounting and Auditing Developments at 2016 AICPA Conference

This year’s American Institute of Certified Public Accountants Conference on SEC and PCAOB Developments, held on December 5-7, echoed several themes from prior AICPA conferences regarding regulatory priorities of interest to...more

12/19/2016 / Accounting Standards , AICPA , Audit Committee , Auditor Independence , IFRS , Internal Controls , Non-GAAP Financial Measures , PCAOB , Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)

New Report Shows Continued Increases in Enhanced Audit Committee Disclosures Among S&P 500

The Center for Audit Quality and Audit Analytics recently released their 2016 Audit Committee Transparency Barometer. The report is based on a review of proxy statements filed through the end of June 2016 by companies in the...more

11/4/2016 / Audit Committee , Information Reports , Public Disclosure , Publicly-Traded Companies

SEC Division of Enforcement Focuses on Auditor Compliance

Speaking at the American Law Institute’s Conference on Accountants’ Liability in September, Andrew Ceresney, Director of the Division of Enforcement of the Securities and Exchange Commission, reviewed in detail the SEC’s...more

10/21/2016 / Auditor Independence , Enforcement Actions , Financial Reporting , Professional Conferences , Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)

PCAOB Expands Outreach Efforts with Form AP Resources

In a further expansion of its outreach efforts, the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board has established a Form AP webpage with resources for investors, auditors, and others interested in the information to be collected...more

7/6/2016 / Audit Reports , Auditors , Audits , Investors , PCAOB , Publicly-Traded Companies

PCAOB Reproposes Enhanced Auditor Reporting Standard

On May 11, the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board unanimously agreed to repropose a revised auditing standard governing the contents and form of the audit report delivered by registered public accounting firms in their...more

6/2/2016 / Accounting Standards , Auditors , Comment Period , Financial Statements , PCAOB , Publicly-Traded Companies , Reporting Requirements , Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)

PCAOB Evaluates Audit Firm Communications with Audit Committees

On April 5, the PCAOB issued a report regarding compliance with Auditing Standard No. 16, Communications with Audit Committees (AS No. 16), based on its inspections of issuer audits during its 2014 inspection cycle. AS No. 16...more

4/28/2016 / Audit Committee , Auditors , Audits , Disclosure Requirements , Inspections , Oral Communications , PCAOB

PCAOB Outlines Priorities for 2016

As part of its annual budget process for 2016, the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board reviewed the priorities set forth in its 2015-2019 Strategic Plan. Commenting on the adoption of its $257.7 million budget for...more

1/6/2016 / Audit Committee , Audit Reports , FASB , PCAOB , Public Disclosure , Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) , Strategic Planning

PCAOB Adopts Rules to Require Public Disclosure of Engagement Partners and Audit Participants

Culminating a process begun in 2009, and that encompassed a concept release and three separate rule proposals, the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board has adopted new auditor transparency rules. The rules will require...more

12/18/2015 / Audit Committee , Auditors , PCAOB , Public Disclosure

Report Shows Upward Trend in Enhanced Audit Committee Disclosures Among S&P 1500

The Center for Audit Quality and Audit Analytics recently released their 2015 Audit Committee Transparency Barometer. The report is based on a review of proxy statements filed through the end of June 2015 by companies in the...more

12/1/2015 / Audit Committee , Auditors , Proxy Statements , S&P , Voluntary Disclosure

Audit Committee Disclosures Among Largest Companies Continue to Expand

In its fourth annual report on enhanced audit committee reporting to shareholders, Ernst & Young reports that “the previously observed trend of Fortune 100 companies going beyond minimum disclosure requirements and providing...more

10/1/2015 / Audit Committee , Disclosure Requirements , Fortune 500 , Proxy Statements , Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)

SEC Issues Concept Release on Possible Revisions to Audit Committee Disclosures

On July 1, 2015, the Securities and Exchange Commission issued its long-anticipated concept release on Possible Revisions to Audit Committee Disclosures. The concept release notes the important function of the public company...more

8/24/2015 / Audit Committee , Comment Period , Disclosure Requirements , Public Comment , Publicly-Traded Companies , Regulation S-K , Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)

PCAOB Requests Supplemental Comment on Rules to Require Disclosure of Engagement Partners and Audit Participants

At an open meeting on June 30, 2015, the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board unanimously voted to publish a supplemental request for comment on potential rules to require the disclosure of certain audit participants on...more

7/16/2015 / Accounting , Auditors , Audits , Comment Period , Disclosure Requirements , PCAOB , Professional Liability

PCAOB Launches Audit Committee “Dialogue”

As part of its audit committee outreach efforts, the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board has established a webpage called "Audit Committee Dialogue" focusing on recurrent areas of concern identified by the PCAOB over...more

6/23/2015 / Audit Committee , Audits , Cross-Border Transactions , Financial Reporting , Internal Controls , Material Misstatements , Oil Prices , PCAOB , Risk Assessment

Addressing Cybersecurity Oversight in Audit Committee Charters

Cybersecurity continues to emerge as a key risk that is attracting the attention of regulators and boards of directors. Companies take different approaches regarding how the board fulfills its oversight duty with respect to...more

5/1/2015 / Audit Committee , Board of Directors , Cybersecurity , Data Privacy , Data Protection , Risk Assessment , Risk Management

KPMG Issues 2015 Global Audit Committee Survey

In February, KPMG released its 2015 Global Audit Committee Survey, which reports on audit committee activities based on survey responses from 1,500 audit committee members across 35 countries....more

4/9/2015 / Audits , Board of Directors , Cybersecurity , KPMG , Succession Planning , Surveys

SEC Plans Concept Release on Audit Committee Disclosures

The Securities and Exchange Commission plans to issue a concept release in early 2015 addressing possible changes in the audit committee disclosures in proxy statements. SEC Chair Mary Jo White disclosed this plan at the...more

12/5/2014 / Compliance , Corporate Governance , Dodd-Frank , Joint Audit Committee , PCAOB , Proxy Statements , Sarbanes-Oxley , Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)

Alan Wilson

WilmerHale

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