Year-end toolkit: Strengthening audit committee collaboration

11 snips

Jan 27, 2026

Stephen Parker, partner at PwC’s Governance Insights Center with 30+ years advising boards, discusses strengthening director-management relationships. He covers making audit committee agendas more effective, what to report about AI and cyber risks, evolving enterprise risk management, oversight of transformations and M&A, and improving proxy disclosures.

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INSIGHT

Trust Enables Better Oversight

Directors want deeper relationships with management to enable candid dialogue and aligned reporting.
Strong relationships build trust that improves oversight and meeting effectiveness.

ADVICE

Streamline Committee Reporting

Provide a one- to two-page executive summary in every committee package to focus directors on 4–6 key topics.
Remove accumulated granular detail and use dashboards so meetings focus on oversight, not data review.

ADVICE

Prioritize And Be Agile With Agendas

Put the most important topics first and be willing to reorder the agenda after an initial executive session.
Presenters should focus on the executive summary and allocate most time for discussion with committee members.

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We continue our year-end toolkit series with insights on key areas of the year-end accounting and reporting process. Today’s episode focuses on the finance team’s engagement with the audit committee, which faces a packed agenda and expanding oversight responsibilities. We explore how management can strengthen collaboration with those charged with governance, streamline reporting, and address emerging issues such as AI, enterprise risk management, and transformation initiatives.

In this episode, we discuss:

1:18 – Strengthening management/audit committee communication and collaboration
10:10 – Key year-end issues finance teams should be prepared to address
15:02 – Oversight of AI: risks, opportunities, and controls
21:33 – Enhancing enterprise risk oversight
27:35 – Navigating the evolving cyber risk landscape in the age of AI
36:05 – Elevating proxy disclosures

For more, watch the replay of our Year-end audit committee webcast and read our publication, Your year-end audit committee guide.

In case you missed it, check out the previous episode in this year-end miniseries:

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About our guest

Stephen Parker is a partner in PwC’s Governance Insights Center, which strives to strengthen the connection between directors, executive teams, and investors by helping them navigate the evolving governance landscape. With more than 30 years of experience, Stephen has advised boards of directors on a variety of complex financial reporting matters. Stephen’s client service experience includes energy and utility companies, financial services companies, and nonprofits.

About our guest host

Diana Stoltzfus is a partner in PwC’s National Office who helps to shape PwC’s perspectives on regulatory matters, responses to rulemakings and policy development, and implementation related to significant new rules and regulations. Prior to rejoining PwC, Diana was the Deputy Chief Accountant in the Office of the Chief Accountant (OCA) at the SEC where she led the activities of the OCA’s Professional Practices Group.

Transcripts available upon request for individuals who may need a disability-related accommodation. Please send requests to us_podcast@pwc.com

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