

2022 certainly gave us a mix of ups and downs in the Consumer & Retail (C&R) sector. The upside was a resilient consumer with a strong job market, improving supply chain conditions, and, of course, the emergence from the pandemic. The downside was rising input costs, a sustained inflationary environment, dipping consumer confidence, and a hawkish Federal Reserve.
As we enter 2023, audit committees will have had no shortage of significant agenda items to address: the likelihood of a recession and rising interest rates; declining consumer spending; and continued deployment of new technologies, cloud transformations, and digitization to accommodate changing consumer buying behaviors. Meanwhile, environmental, social, and governance (ESG) priorities are gaining increasing attention, while supply chain reliability remains unsolved for most C&R organizations. And worker and talent shortages continue, although more in pockets than organization-wide.
Audit committees can expect their companies to be tested as the risk landscape becomes increasingly complex and interconnected.
We highlight eight issues for audit committee members to keep in mind as they consider and carry out their agendas for 2023.