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What audit committees should prioritize in 2025


Find out about important year-end developments for audit committees related to risk management, financial reporting, and regulatory matters.


This final audit committee update for 2024 provides a summary of key developments related to risk management, financial reporting and the regulatory side.

Heading into 2025, audit committees are anticipating and adapting to prepare for evolving legislative and regulatory implications of the US election. Businesses and governments are considering how the second Trump administration and a new Washington environment might shape the economic landscape moving forward on key issues, such as tax; trade and supply chains; technology; the regulatory environment; climate; and workforce.

Risk management

Cybersecurity, data privacy, and artificial intelligence (AI) and other emerging technologies are areas that audit committees are closely monitoring as companies experiment with and rethink controls and processes. In particular, audit committees continue to re-evaluate cyber incident response plans and related cyber disclosures.

 

Regulatory developments

Meanwhile, rulemaking and other actions by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) could meaningfully shift regulatory requirements in the months ahead. Audit committees are working closely with management teams to assess how well prepared their company will be to comply with the applicable climate- and sustainability-related disclosure requirements (such as California’s climate reporting laws and the EU’s Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive, among others).


Reports from previous quarters

2024 Q3 reporting update for audit committees

2024 Q2 reporting update for audit committees

2024 Q1 reporting update for audit committees


Summary

This edition summarizes key considerations for audit committees for the 2024 year-end audit cycle and beyond. With the changing risk landscape, the audit committee’s role continues to grow more demanding and complex amid this uncertain and dynamic business environment. This report assists audit committees to proactively address developments in risk management, financial reporting, tax and the regulatory landscape.

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