Chief audit executives (CAEs) globally and in North America rank cybersecurity as the top area in which internal audit will spend the most time and effort. Other top priority areas are governance/corporate reporting, business continuity, regulatory change and financial liquidity.
Stay focused on financial reporting and related internal control risks—job number one. Clarify the role of the audit committee in the oversight of generative AI (GenAI), cybersecurity, and data governance. Understand how technology is affecting the finance organization's talent, efficiency, and value-add.
The 2025 Mandate for Audit Committees
Determine whether the organization is evaluating and capitalizing on generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) investments and opportunities responsibly. Consider the maturity of the organization's governance over third-party relationships.
In 2025, the PCAOB aims to continue to select audits of companies in industries with specialised accounting requirements or those affected by economic and geopolitical uncertainties. The selection process will also focus on sectors with a history of deficiencies and companies with increased going concern risks.
In 2025, the PCAOB's selection process will prioritize the financial, real estate, and information technology sectors.
By focusing on three strategic priorities in 2025, Chief Audit Executives (CAEs) can effectively support their organizations. These priorities include supporting the audit committee's risk oversight, achieving audit department productivity, and scoping AI risks.
The role of the audit committee is to support council in fulfilling its governance and oversight responsibilities in relation to financial reporting, internal control structure, risk management systems, internal and external audit functions and ethical accountability.
There are five potential threats to auditor independence: self-interest, self-review, advocacy, familiarity, and intimidation. Any lack of independence compromises the integrity of financial markets.
If your agency expends $1,000,000 or more in federal awards issued on or after October 1, 2024, then you must undergo a Single Audit for fiscal years ending on or after September 30, 2025. If your agency's federal awards were issued before October 1, 2024, the previous threshold of $750,000 still applies.
The 2-year rule for audit is quite simple. If a company meets two or more of the above criteria for two years in a row, then it must have a statutory audit. Conversely, a firm that currently has to be audited can't qualify for an audit exemption until it fails to meet at least two over the criteria over two years.
The NYSE and Nasdaq listing rules require that an audit committee have a minimum of three directors—on average, audit committees have three to five members—and each director must be “independent” and meet certain financial literacy requirements.
(6) The Audit Committee shall have authority to investigate into any matter in relation to the items specified in sub-section (4) or referred to it by the Board and for this purpose shall have power to obtain professional advice from external sources and have full access to information contained in the records of the ...
2 Having too many discussion points
It's easy to become overwhelmed or fatigued when you have too many agenda items – our brains can only really focus on so much at once. Plus, you're much more likely to run out of time if you're trying to cover more topics than can reasonably fit into your meeting duration.
The CSRD may require some companies to start reporting in 2025 on 2024 information. Accordingly, audit committees should understand how management teams are planning to comply, including whether adequate processes, controls and technologies are in place to provide quality reporting.
Not-for-profit (NFP) audit committees have new challenges to face in 2025. These include political polarization, backlash against sustainability and diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives, and heightened scrutiny of mission relevance and outcomes.
The Audit Bureau of Circulations (ABC) of India is a non-profit circulation-audit organisation. It certifies and audits the circulations of major publications, including newspapers and magazines in India.
The 5 ws and h is a method used to gather information and analyze a situation by asking six key questions: who, what, when, where, why, and how.