It’s April, and in Washington, DC that means the cherry blossoms have peaked, while the news cycle shows no signs of slowing down. As regulators are contemplating rulemaking and strategic priorities, other stakeholders are sharing helpful resources to bring you up to speed on the latest developments in technology and corporate governance. Read on to learn what’s new.
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In This Issue:
- PCAOB Requests Comments on Strategic Priorities
- Voices From the Audit Committee: A Supplemental Report
- AFC Resource Highlight: Fraud and Emerging Tech: Deepfakes
- Corporate Governance: New COSO Guiding Principles for Board Oversight
- CAQ’s Audit Committee Council Spotlight: Kathy Waller, Audit Committee Chair Delta Air Lines
- ICYMI: CAQ Public Policy Technical Alert (PPTA), March 2026
- Out of This World: NASA’s Artemis II Moon Mission
PCAOB Requests Comments on Strategic Priorities
In a recent open meeting, the PCAOB issued a request for public comment on their strategic priorities. The Board’s request provides several specific questions that they are seeking feedback on covering topics such as inspections, QC 1000, standard-setting, and more. Public comments are due by May 15, 2026, and information on submitting comments can be found here.
- What should the PCAOB focus on as its strategic priorities in registration, inspections, and enforcement over the next two to five years to further its statutory mission?
- What changes should the PCAOB make to its inspections program including, but not limited to, changes in light of its new quality control standard (QC 1000)?
- What inspection information would be most useful to stakeholders, and how could inspection reporting be enhanced under a quality control-focused inspection program?
- What standard-setting projects should the PCAOB pursue?
- How can the PCAOB achieve greater alignment of its auditing standards with international auditing standards?
- In what ways should the PCAOB consider deploying technology, including AI, to help further its investor-protection mission?
- How can the PCAOB enhance transparency with its stakeholders?
Voices From the Audit Committee: A Supplemental Report
A new supplemental report from the CAQ and Deloitte’s Center for Board Effectiveness shares direct insights from 27 corporate directors on how to elevate audit committee meeting quality. This report supplements findings from the Audit Committee Practices Report, which offers data-driven insights into priorities, oversight responsibilities, and committee effectiveness. This companion report helps bring the report’s insights into real-world conversations and provides the following takeaways:
- Assume pre-reads are reviewed
- Utilize concise executive summaries
- Prioritize active engagement over routine updates
Streamlining these mechanics frees up valuable time for top-of-mind oversight challenges, like cybersecurity risks and AI implementation.
AFC Resource Highlight: Fraud and Emerging Tech: Deepfakes
The Anti-Fraud Collaboration (AFC) released a new resource on one of the risks that companies face as generative AI (GenAI) tools become more widely adopted: the use of deepfakes to defraud corporations. For those unaware, deepfakes are a type of synthetic media created using AI that manipulates or generates content with the intent to deceive or demean others. The form of these attacks can vary and may include altered text, image, video, or audio. That audio recording of your CEO that is incredibly real? That’s a deepfake.
One important way the board can help mitigate risk and impact? Plan and rehearse responses to potential attacks. Ensure that management has protocols in place to respond to deepfake attacks and rehearse that protocol. Rehearsing these protocols can reduce response time and minimize impact.
Corporate Governance: New COSO Guiding Principles for Board Oversight
The Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission (COSO), in collaboration with PwC, released Corporate Governance – Guiding Principles for Board Oversight, a new publication that provides clear guiding principles for corporate governance. This resource emphasizes the importance of a strong governance environment shaped by board oversight, accountability, information flow, and culture. The 12 guiding principles for effective governance are:
- Board Governance Structure – Establishes a clear governance framework that defines roles, delegations of authority, and aligns oversight responsibilities with strategy, risk appetite, and legal requirements.
- Board Accountability – Ensures the board fulfills its fiduciary duties with transparency, oversees controls and disclosures, and maintains accountability to shareholders or other beneficiaries.
- Board Composition and Leadership – Maintains the right mix of skills, experience, independence, and leadership to support objective judgment and effective oversight over time.
- Board Effectiveness – Evaluates and continuously improves board practices to support informed decisions and long-term value creation.
- Purpose, Mission, and Values – Oversees alignment of the organization’s purpose, mission, and values with strategy, culture, incentives, and workforce practices.
- Culture, Conduct, and Tone at the Top – Sets and models expectations for ethical behavior and integrity. Oversees whether those expectations are reinforced throughout the organization.
- Strategy, Objectives, and Performance – Provides independent oversight of strategy and execution, monitoring performance, and ensuring alignment with risk appetite and long-term objectives.
- Technology and Data – Oversees the use of technology and data to support strategy and performance while managing related risks to enhance performance and resilience.
- Stakeholder Engagement – Oversees how management identifies, engages, and communicates with key stakeholders, and how stakeholder perspectives inform strategic decisions.
- Executive Leadership and Succession – Appoints executives, oversees leadership development and succession planning, and reviews talent strategy to ensure continuity and organizational resilience.
- Executive Performance and Compensation – Evaluates executive performance and oversees compensation structures to reinforce accountability and long-term value creation.
- Risk Management and Internal Control – Oversees enterprise risk management and internal control to support strategy and objectives, strengthening resilience.
CAQ’s Audit Committee Council Spotlight: Kathy Waller, Audit Committee Chair Delta Air Lines
We sat down with Kathy Waller, a member of the CAQ’s Audit Committee Council, to shed light on her career and journey to the audit committee. Read on to learn about Kathy’s journey.
How did you get started in accounting? What was your first and last job?
I originally went to college planning to be a lawyer, majoring in history with a political science minor. After graduation, I took a year off to study for the LSAT and stayed in Rochester, where I worked at the city’s budget bureau. I quickly realized that I liked the work I was doing, leading to me pursuing an MBA. While taking my courses, accounting just clicked.
My career began at Deloitte in Rochester, NY, where I stayed for a few years before transferring home to Atlanta with Deloitte and then six months later moving to The Coca-Cola Company, which marked the beginning of my 32-year career there that ended when I retired as CFO in 2019. Today I am the Executive Director of the Atlanta Committee for Progress, where I work with the corporate, civic and academic leaders in the city in support of the mayor and the city’s long-term success.
What was the first corporate board that you joined? How did you get on that board?
My first corporate board experience was with Coca Cola FEMSA, a franchise bottler headquartered in Monterrey, Mexico, and an SEC registrant. At the time, I was serving as the controller at The Coca-Cola Company and served on the board as a company representative, representing our interests as an equity owner.
While in my role as CFO, I joined the board of Delta Air Lines. This opportunity initially came through a recruiter, and after discussions with the CEOs of Delta and Coca-Cola, I decided to join the board.
What do you enjoy most about serving on the audit committee? How is it different from other board committees?
I’ve always believed that if you really want to learn about a company, you should join its audit committee. You gain deep insight into the financials, how the business actually operates, and how management thinks about risk. The audit committee touches almost everything—whether it’s financial reporting, cyber risk, or broader enterprise risk—so it gives you a comprehensive view of the organization.
What I enjoy most is the constant learning. Decisions across the company, whether operational or financial, tend to connect back to the audit committee in some way. Being part of those discussions and understanding how different management teams approach challenges is incredibly interesting and rewarding.
What else do you do outside of board service?
I stay busy with work that I find both meaningful and enjoyable. I’m involved in C-Suite mentoring through the Exco Leadership Group and devote a significant amount of time to civic and community organizations. I serve on boards connected to education, the arts, and youth development, including Spelman College, the University of Rochester, and the Woodruff Arts Center in Atlanta, as well as organizations like the Boys & Girls Club, Veritas, Girl Scouts, and the Rotary Club of Atlanta. Giving back, especially through work that helps young people succeed, has always been very important to me.
I also serve on the public boards of CGI and Beyond Meat in addition to Delta Air Lines.
What trends or risks do you think audit committees will need to focus on in the next few years?
One of the biggest issues I see is workforce transformation. It’s not just about what jobs companies will have in the future, but how they will train people for senior leadership roles.
Another risk is AI and related technologies which are making cybersecurity more complex and challenging. It’s becoming much easier to deceive people through AI-enabled attacks, and while someone may always find a way in, companies need to be focused on detection, response, and resilience.
In addition to Kathy’s active roles on several boards, she has previously served on the board of Cadence Bancorporation. She joined the CAQ’s Audit Committee Council in December of 2020.
ICYMI: CAQ Public Policy Technical Alert (PPTA), March 2026
Each month, the PPTA highlights and examines the regulatory, standard-setting, legislative, and broader financial reporting developments impacting the public company audit profession. The CAQ’s March 2026 Alert included these featured articles.
SEC Clarifies the Application of Federal Securities Laws to Crypto Assets
The SEC issued an interpretation clarifying how the federal securities laws apply to certain crypto assets and transactions involving crypto assets. The Commission interpretation provides a coherent token taxonomy for digital commodities, digital collectibles, digital tools, stablecoins, and digital securities.
IOSCO Publishes Updated Statement on Non-GAAP Financial Measures
IOSCO published an updated Statement on Non-GAAP (Generally Accepted Accounting Principles) Financial Measures. This Statement is an update to the 2016 and 2002 IOSCO Statements on Non-GAAP Financial Measures, highlighting IOSCO’s commitment to clear, useful and standardized disclosures to reduce risks for investors and other users of financial information.
Comment Letter: Regulation S-K, S-X
The CAQ submitted a comment letter to the SEC in response to a January 13, 2026 statement from Chairman Paul S. Atkins encouraging members of the public to provide their views on how the SEC can amend the requirements in Regulation S-K to focus on eliciting disclosure of material information and avoid compelling the disclosure of immaterial information. Division of Corporation Finance Director Jim Moloney reiterated this request in a statement on February 13, 2026, encouraging the public to submit targeted, concrete recommendations relating to Regulation S-X. The CAQ strongly supports the SEC’s efforts and is pleased to respond to these requests.
Out of This World: NASA’s Artemis II Moon Mission
On April 10, 2026, Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch, and Jeremy Hansen completed a 10-day trip they will be talking about for the rest of their lives. No, they didn’t take a beach trip to the Caribbean or travel through Europe or Asia, they went on a 620,000-mile trip around the moon.
This was the first time since 1972 that humans returned to the moon (none of these astronauts were alive then). While they didn’t touch down on the lunar surface, they traveled around 250,000 miles away from Earth, farther than any other human has traveled before in a space equivalent to the size of two minivans. (Unbelievable!) They also got to see parts of the moon never before seen by human eyes. Now this may not be the trip of choice for everyone, but it’s hard to ignore how cool this is.
Learn more mind-blowing facts about their journey in this article.
Questions and comments about Audit Committee Insights can be addressed to Vanessa Teitelbaum, Senior Director, Professional Practice (vteitelbaum@thecaq.org).
This newsletter is intended as general information and should not be relied upon as being definitive or all-inclusive. The CAQ encourages readers to refer to applicable rules, standards, guidance, and other resources in their entirety. All entities should carefully evaluate which requirements apply to their respective organizations.