Audit Committee Insights | March 2026

As we head into spring – and toward the close of Q1 – many audit committees are shifting from year-end wrap-up to forward-looking agenda setting. This month we’re highlighting developments and resources to help audit committees “spring” into action and focus on what may matter most in 2026. Read on to learn what’s new.

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In This Issue:

• What to Expect from the SEC in 2026
• CAQ Resource Highlight: Annual Institutional Investor Survey
• The Evolving Role of Internal Audit: Insights for Audit Chairs
• AI and Generative AI (GenAI) – Keeping Pace with Change
• CAQ’s Audit Committee Council Spotlight: Greg Weaver, Audit Committee Chair Goldman Sachs Asset Management
• ICYMI: CAQ Public Policy Technical Alert (PPTA), February 2026
• Luck of the Irish – How to Celebrate St. Patrick’s Day

What to Expect from the SEC in 2026 

EY’s SEC Top Priorities details and offers helpful context that may shape the audit committee’s agenda:

• Capital formation – Reducing barriers to going public by reducing disclosure burden, litigation risk, and governance pressure. Expected actions include amending the emerging growth company and filer status requirements, Rule 144 safe harbor, and shelf registration modernization.
• Disclosures – Simplification and reduction of disclosure requirements using materiality as a “north star” and considering changes to periodic reporting requirements.
• Shareholder proposals, proxy advisors and litigation – Modernizing shareholder proposal rules, allowing for certain shareholder proposals to be excluded from proxy statements. Also expected is action to address what Chairman Atkins has described as an outsize influence of proxy advisors on management decisions.
• Crypto assets – Creating a clear regulatory framework for the issuance, custody, and trading of crypto assets. Expected actions in the next year include conditional relief for crypto projects while rules are being developed along with amendments to custody and trading rules to make them “adaptable and adapted to the modern world and to this new technology.” Check out the CAQ’s Role of the Auditor in Digital Assets here.
• Enforcement – Shifting away from “regulation by enforcement” and focusing on fraud, market manipulation, and investor harm. Planning to “revisit and refresh” the Wells process where potential defendants can hear and respond to evidence against them among other procedural changes.

For other agenda topics, see these recent publications from KPMG and Deloitte.

CAQ Resource Highlight: Annual Institutional Investor Survey 

The CAQ’s Annual Institutional Investor Survey offers valuable insight into how investors view audit quality and independence. Below are some key takeaways from the survey:

• 90% of investors rely on and 91% of investors trust the reliability of audited financial statements.
• When making investment decisions, 8 in 10 investors use company 10-Qs most or all of the time, mainly to track long-term performance and as a comparison tool to annual reports.
• Investors often use disclosures outside of the financial statements to make investment decisions, specifically company disclosures around cybersecurity risk, governance, and data privacy.
• 84% of investors are ‘completely’ or ‘very’ confident in the quality of information coming from a company’s audit committee.

Evolving Role of Internal Audit: Insights for Audit Chairs

In a new publication by Tapestry and EY, The Evolving Role of Internal Audit: Insights for Audit Chairs, audit committee chairs and internal audit leaders share insights in how the role of the internal audit function is expanding beyond compliance and into strategic influence. Audit committee chairs are reconsidering the role internal audit plays in the governance framework and determining how to best support its evolution. Here’s what audit committees should keep in mind:

• Technology – New technology, particularly AI, is reshaping the mandate and capabilities of internal audit. Internal audit can provide unique insight into potential risks while also ensuring that a company is following governance frameworks and implementing appropriate human oversight. While internal audit may be cautious with AI adoption, a chief audit executive warned that “Internal audit cannot hinder progress. It must support the implementation of technology or we are going to slow the company down.”
• Relationships – Continuous engagement between internal audit and the audit committee is critical and issues should be raised early and directly from both sides. As one audit chair said, “You’d rather know than be surprised.” Additionally, closer coordination between internal and external audit throughout the audit process will help strengthen audit quality.
• Talent – With these changes comes the need for different skills within internal audit. The internal auditor of 10 years ago looks very different to the internal auditor of today and companies should consider implementing training, rotational programs, or new staffing models to keep up with these changing demands. New talent expectations are also evolving. To emphasize this point, a participant shared that “New employees want to add real value—they don’t want to do the tasks AI can replace. This means that traditional recruitment models are being influenced by AI’s pervasiveness.”

AI and Generative AI (GenAI) – Keeping Pace with Change

The speed at which AI and specifically GenAI is being adopted is rapid to say the least. In a new publication from The Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission (COSO), they offer a practical, COSO-aligned path to harness GenAI responsibly. The publication lays out eight capabilities of AI (ingestion, transformation, posting, orchestration, judgment, monitoring, knowledge retrieval, and human-AI interaction) and provides examples, control expectations, and metrics for operational monitoring and audit evidence collection.

Recent thought leadership from EY and Deloitte underscores this new phase of AI oversight – one defined less by experimentation and more by enterprise-wide impact. EY’s How Boards Can Lead in a World Remade by AI emphasizes that AI is no longer a discrete technology risk, but a strategic capability reshaping decision-making, operating models, and accountability. Boards are expected to demonstrate fluency in how AI is used, how risks are governed, and how management ensures appropriate human judgment, particularly as AI influences high-impact areas such as forecasting, performance measurement, and external reporting.

Deloitte’s State of AI in the Enterprise report reinforces this shift, noting that while organizations are rapidly scaling AI and moving toward more autonomous and agentic systems, governance and control structures often lag deployment. For audit committees, this gap heightens the importance of oversight over AI-enabled- controls, management review processes, and assurance activities. As AI becomes embedded in core financial and risk processes, audit committees are increasingly expected to ensure that governance, documentation, and testing keep pace – supporting reliable reporting, effective risk management, and credible disclosure.

Here are some questions audit committees can ask to better understand your company’s use of AI when considering what future governance looks like:

• Where is AI used in financial reporting, controls, compliance, or risk – and how is it identified?
• How are AI-enabled processes designed, controlled, and monitored as models and data change?
• Who owns AI-related risks, and how are issues escalated within the organization’s control structure?
• How is AI governance documented to support audit, investor, and regulatory scrutiny?
• Can internal audit effectively test AI-driven controls and management review processes?
• How does AI affect judgment-based accounting, estimates, and disclosures?

We’d be remiss if we didn’t also remind you of a recent CAQ resource, The Role of the Auditor in AI: Present and Future. For a deeper dive into AI and the audit committee’s oversight role, consider these upcoming webinars:

• AI in Financial Reporting and Audit – What Audit Committees Need to Know  –  Join the Center for Audit Quality for an upcoming CPE-eligible webinar on March 26 to explore what audit committees, finance leaders, and auditors need to know about AI in financial reporting—from emerging opportunities to key risks and governance considerations. Gain practical insights from leading experts on how AI is influencing financial reporting processes, internal controls, and the future of audit oversight. Register here to reserve your spot.
• AI in focus: strengthening audit committee oversight  – EY’s Center for Board Matters will be hosting an upcoming webcast that will provide perspectives from leading technologists and board directors on emerging AI practices, risks and governance approaches. Register here.

CAQ’s Audit Committee Council Spotlight: Greg Weaver, Audit Committee Chair Goldman Sachs Asset Management 

We sat down with Greg Weaver, member of the CAQ’s Audit Committee Council, to shed light on his career and journey to the audit committee. Read on to learn about Greg’s journey.
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How did you get started in accounting? What was your first and last job? 

I entered accounting somewhat unexpectedly. As a math major in my senior year of college, I was deciding between teaching and graduate school when a close friend’s job offer at Haskins & Sells sparked my interest. I took the GMAT, enrolled in graduate school, and began working as an auditor with Haskins & Sells in Connecticut immediately after graduation.

I spent my entire career at one firm, ultimately serving as CEO of Deloitte & Touche LLP. In that role, I worked closely with senior executives of large companies. From my first role to my last, I continued to learn as if I was still in school.

What was the first corporate board that you joined? How did you get on that board?

My first two corporate board opportunities came around the same time as I was retiring from Deloitte – Verizon and Goldman Sachs Asset Management (GSAM). I was introduced to the board of Verizon by a professional connection made during my time serving one of my previous audit clients. With GSAM, I was approached by a partner at Deloitte who was retiring from their role on the board and asked if I would be interested in succeeding him.

What do you enjoy most about serving on the audit committee? How is it different from other board committees?

Serving on the audit committee offers a unique, broad, bird’s eye view of the organization. The audit committee offers deep insight into key risks the company faces, which allows for a thorough understanding of how the company operates. I enjoy learning about a company from this lens which allows me to serve effectively on the board. It is a natural extension of my audit career, which is why finance and accounting experience is so valuable in this role.

What else do you do outside of board service?

I enjoy spending time with my family, traveling, and golfing. I live vicariously through my nine grandchildren; I often find myself with them at sporting events or other activities supporting or spending time with them.

What trends or risks do you think audit committees will need to focus on in the next few years?

Technology, particularly artificial intelligence. AI will be a major focus for audit committees in the future as it is reshaping how businesses operate by changing resource models and the skills needed to implement this technology effectively. From a talent and accounting perspective, future success will require stronger science-based skills and a deeper understanding of data and algorithms. While the potential is exciting, audit committees will need to help companies navigate the potential challenges and missteps that come with this rapid change.

In addition to Greg’s role as audit committee chair of Goldman Sachs Asset Management, Greg serves on the board of trustees of Goldman Sachs Trust and has previously served as the audit committee chair for Verizon. He joined the CAQ’s Audit Committee Council in December of 2020.

ICYMI: CAQ Public Policy Technical Alert (PPTA), February 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 February 2026 Alert included these featured articles.

Global Survey Reveals Growing AI Adoption Gap As Organizations Struggle With Talent, Technology, and Governance Readiness

The AICPA and the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants, in partnership with North Carolina State University’s Enterprise Risk Management Initiative, released a global study examining how executives perceive the opportunities and risks of artificial intelligence across regions, industries, and organizational sizes.

International Auditing and Assurance Standards Board (IAASB) Published Global Roundtable Feedback on Technology and Quality Management

The IAASB published a summary of feedback from its global Technology Quality Management roundtables, which explored how emerging technologies — including artificial intelligence — are affecting audit and assurance engagements and the application of the IAASB’s quality management standards. Participants broadly agreed that the IAASB’s quality management standards, particularly International Standard on Quality Management (ISQM) 1 and International Standard on Auditing (ISA) 220 (Revised), provide a strong foundation for managing technology-related risks. The IAASB will use the roundtable feedback, along with other stakeholder feedback, to inform its future work on Technology Quality Management.

Luck of the Irish – How to Celebrate St. Patrick’s Day

Lucky you! You made it to the end of the newsletter (hope you didn’t skip all the good content above) and now you get to read about common St. Patrick’s Day traditions. From corned beef and cabbage to dances and more, this article shares 20 traditions that will bring you luck on March 17th. Here are some interesting ones:

• Wearing blue for historical accuracy – Instead of green, you could also celebrate Ireland by wearing blue, which was historically worn by St. Patrick himself along with other ties to Irish heritage.
• Staying sober – This one may be a surprise, but pubs were closed on St. Patrick’s Day up until the 1970s with celebrations typically including a trip to church.
• Looking for four-leaf clovers – take to the clover fields and test your luck with the 10,000 to 1 odds of finding a four-leaf clover. Using these odds, 13 square feet of clover field is all you should need!
• Joining a St. Patrick’s Day dash – Races have become a tradition to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day. Lace up the running shoes, wear your shamrocks and leprechaun hats, and most importantly, have fun!

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.