2021 AICPA Conference on Current SEC & PCAOB Developments

KPMG reports on conference highlights from the SEC, PCAOB, FASB and others. Primary topics included Environmental, Social & Governance (ESG), special purpose acquisition companies (SPACs) and materiality and restatements.

Applicability

• All public companies

Relevant dates

• Effective immediately

The future is here: Charting a new course

The tone of the 2021 AICPA and CIMA Conference on Current SEC and PCAOB Developments was set by the first speaker, Tracey Golden, former chair of the AICPA. Ms. Golden talked about the environment in which the profession is operating, which provided context to the many emerging issues addressed during the conference.

"If you attended last year's conference, you would have heard me talk about the rapid change happening within our profession – how we need to adapt, embrace technology and evolve our skills to the challenges of the future. Well, that future is here. We're living through those challenges. Constant and accelerated change has become our normal. I'm not even going to say it's our new normal, it's our normal." — Tracey Golden (Dec. 6, 2021) 

During his keynote remarks, the SEC’s Acting Chief Accountant, Paul Munter, outlined three elements necessary to support high quality financial reporting - high quality standard-setting, high quality implementation and application of those standards, and high quality audits. Key themes at the conference this year span across all three elements, serving as important reminders for preparers and auditors as they approach the 2021 calendar year-end financial reporting season.

Report contents

• Meeting highlights
• ESG: Get ready for action
• SPACs: new trend in capital formation
• Materiality and restatements
• SEC: Other areas of focus
• Accounting: Looking back and looking forward
• Audit: Independence at its core with an eye toward technology

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