CAQ logo
CAQ logo
The Center for Audit Quality
Type
Autonomous member-funded non-profit
Founded2007
HeadquartersWashington, D.C., United States
Key people
Cynthia M. Fornelli, Executive Director
Website www.TheCAQ.org

The Center for Audit Quality (CAQ) is an autonomous, nonpartisan, nonprofit public policy advocacy organization based in Washington, DC. It is affiliated with the American Institute of CPAs.

The CAQ is "dedicated to enhancing investor confidence and public trust in the global capital markets by fostering high quality performance by public company auditors; convening and collaborating with other stakeholders to advance the discussion of critical issues requiring action and intervention; and, advocating policies and standards that promote public company auditors' objectivity, effectiveness, and responsiveness to dynamic market conditions".

Founded in 2007, the organization has been led since its inception by Executive Director Cynthia M. Fornelli, a U.S. business leader and former securities lawyer.

Membership and structure

The CAQ is self-supporting and entirely funded by member dues. Membership in the CAQ is open to U.S. accounting firms registered with the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB). Associate membership is available for U.S. accounting firms not registered with the PCAOB. The CAQ also offers international firm subscriptions.

Policy issues

The CAQ engages with regulators and auditing and accounting standards-setters on policy proposals and public company auditing issues. It also provides a forum for its member firms to discuss those issues, share perspectives, and formulate positions. The CAQ works on a wide range of public policy issues, including the following:

  • The auditor's reporting model
  • Audit quality indicators
  • The role of audit committees
  • Financial reporting fraud deterrence and detection
  • Accounting estimates and fair value
  • Financial disclosure
  • Auditor of the future
  • Data security and privacy
  • Sarbanes-Oxley Act implementation and PCAOB rulemaking
  • IFRS
  • Mandatory audit firm rotation
  • Going concern
  • Audit engagement partner identification
  • Corporate governance
  • Company use of non-GAAP accounting measures
  • Cybersecurity
  • Audit profession talent pipeline

The CAQ policy page provides more information on the CAQ's policy work.

Resources on auditing, financial reporting, and corporate governance

The CAQ has produced a range of resources aimed at fostering high performance by public company auditors and enhancing investor confidence. These resources include guides, white papers, webcasts, and research studies.

Examples include:

Visit the CAQ resources page for more information.

Research

The CAQ facilitates research initiatives and provides independent funding of scholarly research projects to address new or significant issues relating to public company auditing and the capital markets.

Since 2009, the CAQ through its Research Advisory Board, has annually funded independent academic research projects on auditing-related topics, including audit quality, professional judgment, professional skepticism, and the value of the audit.

In 2013, the CAQ and the Auditing Section of the American Accounting Association created a joint program designed to facilitate accounting and auditing academics’ ability to obtain access to audit firm personnel to participate in their research projects.

Other CAQ research efforts include:

More CAQ’s research can be found on its website.

Governing board

A Governing Board made up of chief executive officers from leading public company auditing firms and the AICPA, as well as three independent members from outside the public company auditing profession leads the CAQ.

Governing Board Chair

  • Catherine M. Engelbert, CEO, Deloitte LLP

Governing Board Vice Chair

  • Joseph M. Adams, Managing Partner and CEO, RSM US LLP

Governing Board Members

  • Wayne Berson, CEO, BDO USA, LLP
  • Jeffrey Brown, Professor of Business and Dean, College of Business, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
  • Lynne Doughtie, U.S. Chairman and CEO- Elect, KPMG LLP
  • Michele J. Hooper, President and CEO, The Directors’ Council
  • Stephen R. Howe, Jr., U.S. Chairman and Americas Managing Partner, EY LLP
  • J. Michael (Mike) McGuire, CEO, Grant Thornton LLP
  • Barry Melancon, President and CEO, American Institute of CPAs
  • James L. Powers, CEO, Crowe Horwath LLP
  • Timothy F. Ryan, Chairman and Senior Partner, PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP
  • Mary Schapiro, Vice Chairman Advisory Board, Promontory Financial Group

This article uses material from the Wikipedia article Center for Audit Quality, which is released under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share-Alike License 3.0.