The Power of Working Together: A Retirement Reflection

The end of the calendar year is a perfect time to reflect: to take stock of where things stand and where they're headed. In fact, each December for the past several years, that's exactly what I've done with you here on LinkedIn.

This year is much the same—but with one rather large difference for me. In the next few months, I plan to retire.

Like the end of the calendar year, shifting into retirement is also a moment for serious reflection, although with a much greater timescale. Lately, I've found myself looking back and pondering all that I've learned over the course of my career.

Sifting through these reflections, one idea stands out—a truth that is especially important for the public company auditing profession that I've advocated on behalf of for the past 12 years at the Center for Audit Quality (CAQ).

Working together, we gain strength and confidence.

Now, this statement may sound like simple common sense, but let's take a step back to think about it for a moment. Why is it so true? Why are we stronger and more confident when we work together?

For the past twelve years, I've seen why, because I've lived and breathed the importance of working together from the point of view of public company auditors.

Despite its many unique strengths, the auditing profession is certainly not an island unto itself. Rather, auditors are gatekeepers who are integral parts of numerous systems, notably our systems of financial reporting and of investor protection.

Thus, we communicate, collaborate, and engage with other components in those systems to make the whole thrive. Working together, we gain confidence and strength.

A collaborative approach is a defining feature of the CAQ. From our earliest, days, we have taken a systemic, holistic approach to enhancing audit quality that has played out on many levels.

• We've worked constructively with policymakers. We have maintained an ongoing, constructive dialogue with our regulators around fashioning policies that benefit the markets and investors (even on those rare occasions where we don’t see eye to eye). The results of this engagement are evident in groundbreaking recent rules and standards (e.g., auditor reporting) that have been well informed by significant input from the auditing profession. Along those lines, I'm pleased to see that a strong commitment to dialogue is a prominent part of the latest strategic plans of two US agencies that oversee the auditing profession: the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board and the Securities and Exchange Commission.
• We've worked collaboratively with other key market stakeholders. To take just one example (among many!), the CAQ has been a proud part of the Anti-Fraud Collaboration, a group bringing us together with our friends at Financial Executives International, the National Association of Corporate Directors, and The Institute of Internal Auditors. Since forming in 2010, the Collaboration has stimulated the creation of great new resources to combat financial reporting fraud.
• We've worked collaboratively to prepare for the future. Like many others, the auditing profession is adapting to meet opportunities and challenges on the horizon, and we're doing this in a collaborative way. Take our #AuditorProud social media blitz, an annual, profession-wide event aimed at attracting future auditors. During this year's blitz, thousands of people participated from over 100 countries, reaching an aggregate audience of millions as #AuditorProud messages were shared and re-shared across the internet.

As I approach my retirement, I see a common thread running through these and other experiences: how we've gained strength and confidence by embracing the spirit of collaboration. I believe we can—and will—get even stronger and more confident as dialogue and collaboration continue between the stakeholders who take part in our dynamic capital markets.

Thank you for reading and sharing my reflections in 2018, and I wish you all good health, prosperity, and, of course, the chance to collaborate with others in the year ahead. As always, I invite you to share reflections of your own in the comments.

A securities lawyer, Cindy Fornelli has served as the Executive Director of the Center for Audit Quality since its establishment in 2007.