New CAQ Resource Educates Audit Committees and Investors on Critical Audit Matters

Washington, DC – The Center for Audit Quality (CAQ) has released a new publication designed to help audit committees and investors understand changes under the new auditor’s reporting model. The new resource, Critical Audit Matters: Key Concepts and FAQs for Audit Committees, Investors, and Other Users of Financial Statements, focuses on the auditor’s responsibility to determine and communicate critical audit matters (CAMs).

“The communication of critical audit matters represents a significant change in the information required to be communicated in the auditor’s report,” said CAQ Executive Director Cindy Fornelli. “The CAQ is committed to promoting an ongoing dialogue among auditors, management, audit committees, and others to support implementation of this new requirement.”

According to the new standard, a CAM is:

• Any matter arising from the audit of the financial statements that was communicated or required to be communicated to the audit committee; and that:

1. Relates to accounts or disclosures that are material to the financial statements, and;
2. Involved especially challenging, subjective, or complex auditor judgment.

The requirement to determine and communicate CAMs will begin to take effect in mid-2019.

In addition to providing the basics on these changes, the CAQ’s publication provides a list of frequently asked questions.

For more CAQ tools and resources on auditor reporting, visit the CAQ’s related resource page.

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