Responsibilities do a company’s controller and other accounting employees have when interacting with the firm’s independent auditors should have the following:
- Exercise ownership of the relationship with the independent auditor.
- Focus on the independent auditor‘s qualifications, performance, independence, and compensation, including a preapproval process for audit and non audit services.
-Get to know the lead audit partners and meet periodically with specialists (e.g., tax, IT,
actuarial, SEC).
-Establish expectations regarding the nature and method of communication, as well as the
exchange of insights.
-Set an annual agenda with the independent auditor and engage in regular dialogue outside
of audit committee meetings.
-Provide formal evaluations and regular feedback.