The jointly-released CAQ/Audit Analytics annual Audit Committee Transparency Barometer reveals these - among many other - upticks in voluntary audit committee disclosure practices based on S&P 1500 proxy statements filed from July 1, 2017 - June 30, 2018:
- 40%, 27%, and 19% of S&P 500, S&P MidCap, and S&P SmallCap companies, respectively, disclosed in their 2018 proxies the audit committee's considerations in (re)appointing the external auditor - up from 13% (S&P 500), 10% (S&P MidCap), and 8% (S&P SmallCap) in 2014. See the sample disclosures on pages 5 - 7.
- 46%, 36%, and 32% of S&P 500, S&P MidCap, and S&P SmallCap companies, respectively, discussed criteria the audit committee considered in its evaluation of the audit firm - up from 8% (S&P 500), 7% (S&P MidCap), and 15% (S&P SmallCap) in 2014. See the sample disclosures on pages 10 and 12.
- 26%, 17%, and 12% of S&P 500, S&P MidCap, and S&P SmallCap companies, respectively, disclosed that the evaluation of the external auditor is conducted at least annually (best practice) - up from 4% (S&P 500), 3% (S&P MidCap), and 4% (S&P SmallCap) in 2014. See the sample disclosures on pages 10 and 12. Note LifePoint Health's disclosure on page 12, which indicates that the annual evaluation is administered by the Corporate Secretary and an internal risk executive.
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See also the summary table of disclosure frequency by year and company size on pages 15-16 of the report; our previous reports on EY's and Deloitte's voluntary audit committee disclosure analyses, respectively; this Cooley post; these articles from Journal of Accountancy and CFO.com; and numerous additional resources on our Audit Committees and Annual Meeting pages. This post first appeared in last week's Society Alert!
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