Regulators and others have been increasing their focus on audit
committee performance, noting the importance of the committees to
the credibility of financial statements. This means it is
imperative for committee members to make sure they are overseeing
the financial reporting process, including auditors'
activities, and fully discharging their responsibilities.
Paul Beswick, chief accountant in the SEC's Office of the
Chief Accountant, indicated in a speech at the American Institute of CPAs'
December 2013 Conference on Current SEC and PCAOB Developments that
it is important for audit committees to assess the quality of the
audit, including when deciding whether to hire or retain an auditor
rather than simply focusing on auditor fees and selecting the
low-cost provider. In this regard, he noted that, "if the
audit committee is solely fee hunting and if there was a subsequent
audit failure, beyond the obvious problems for the auditor and the
company, this may raise
