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This rich descriptive study examines auditors' client risk assessment (i.e. “key audit matters”/critical audit matters) disclosures in expanded audit reports of 328 Financial Times Stock Exchange (FTSE) 350 companies. The study compares auditor-identified client risks with corporate risk disclosures identified in audit committee reports, in terms of number and type of risks. The research also compares variation in auditor-identified client risks between individual Big 4 audit firms. In addition, the study examines auditor ranking of their client risks disclosed.

The study manually content analyses disclosures in audit reports and audit committee reports of a sample of 328 FTSE-350 companies with 2015 year-ends.

Audit committees identify more risks than auditors (23% more risks). However, auditor-identified client risks and audit-committee-identified risks are similar (80% similar), as are auditor-identified client risks between the individual Big 4 audit firms. Only ten (3%) audit reports rank the importance of auditor-identified client risks.

Sample is restricted to one year, one jurisdiction, large-listed companies and companies audited by Big 4 auditors.

The study provides important insights for regulators, auditors and users of financial statements by identifying influences on disclosure of auditor-identified client risks.

The paper mobilises institutional theory to interpret the findings. The findings suggest that auditor-identified client risks in expanded audit reports may demonstrate mimetic behaviour in terms of similarity with audit-committee-identified risks and similarity between individual Big 4 audit firms. The study provides important insights for regulators, auditors and users of financial statements by identifying influences on disclosure of auditor-identified client risks.

Audit committees have increasingly been recognised as an integral part of modern control structures and governance practices in both the private sector and public service. The audit committee is an integral element of public accountability and governance processes. It plays a key role in underwriting the integrity of corporate governance of a government department. The broad aim of this study is to investigate the status and function of audit committees in South African national government departments. The research question investigated in this paper is to determine whether audit committees in the public service are perceived to be effective in assisting accounting officers of government departments to discharge their responsibilities. The study concludes that the majority of audit committees in the South African public service are not perceived as ineffective in the performance of the required functions of committees. Audit committees can still improve their effectiveness in their performance of certain key functions in the areas of oversight over risk management, governance, financial reporting, internal control and support for the external audit function.