The PCAOB's recently revised auditor reporting standard includes a requirement for the auditor to communicate critical audit matters. Critical audit matters include those matters during the audit that involved difficult, subjective, or complex auditor judgments or that posed difficulty to the auditor in obtaining sufficient appropriate evidence or informing the opinion on the financial statements. Similarly, the International Auditing and Assurance Standards Board (IAASB) recently revised the auditor's report in the ISAs to require auditors to communicate key audit matters. Key audit matters include communication of similar kinds of information as noted by the PCAOB such as areas of higher assessed risk of material misstatement and the effects of significant events or transactions that occurred during the period. Read the requirements 1. Requirement a. Describe how users of the financial statements may benefit from communications about these matters in an audit report. Users may find the disclosures by the auditor about critical audit matters helpful in understanding Matters that would be disclosed provide users insights about the the auditor in obtaining sufficient appropriate evidence for forming an opinion. Requirement b. Describe how communication of these matters may not be beneficial to users of the financial statements. Most investors Auditing financial statements is a conclusions about the impact of those items on the financial statements and the audit process. Disclosure of critical audit matters familiar with the details of the audit process and they V be able to appropriately evaluate many of the issues disclosed and how the auditor reached his or her about the nature of the auditor's opinion provided in the audit report. Opponents also believe disclosure of such matters should come Requirement c. What difficulties, if any, may auditors face in communicating about these matters? The challenge for auditors when making disclosure of critical audit matters will be Because most audits involve which may not improve communications to users of the financial statements. Disclosure of these matters