Familiar Problems.

The Public Company Accounting Oversight Board is finding many of the same problems at auditing firms during its most recent inspections that it has admonished firms for in the past, according to a new report.

The PCAOB's recently released staff inspection brief previews the results of 2016 inspections of auditors of public companies and other issuers.

The brief highlights certain observations from 2016 inspections, including three recurring areas where audit deficiencies were most frequently identified:

1. Assessing and responding to risks of material misstatement;

2. Auditing internal control over financial reporting; and

3. Auditing accounting estimates, including fair value measurements.

PCAOB...