The current audit report format has been in place for a long time. There has been criticism that the audit report has become a boilerplate and lacked information that may be useful to investors. As a result, on June 1, 2017, the PCAOB passed a new auditing standard titled The Auditor's Report on an Audit of Financial Statements when the Auditor Expresses an Unqualified Opinion (AS 3101) with a phased approach for the effective date. The new PCAOB standard is effective for audits of fiscal years ending on or after December 15, 2017, except for those requirements related to critical audit matters (known in the profession as CAMs). The requirements related to critical audit matters will be effective for audits of fiscal years ending on or after June 30, 2019, for large accelerated filers (filers with a certain market capitalization); and for fiscal years ending on or after December 15, 2020, for all other public companies to which the requirements apply. The PCAOB believes that the new audit report requirements will improve the relevance and usefulness of the auditor's report by providing additional information to investors.

1. The CAMs requirements does not become effective until audits of year-ends on or after June 30, 2019. What is the CAMs requirement? Do you believe this information will provide more relevant and useful information to users of the financial statements? Why or why not?

2. Another change to the audit report that has been contemplated is whether each individual partner responsible for the engagement should sign his/her name to the audit report (as opposed to having the firms name/signature). Do you feel this will provide more accountability from the partners on the individual engagements?