Final answer:
Economic trends are generally not a required communication with the audit committee; the required communications usually include accounting policies, accounting estimates, and difficulties encountered during the audit process.
Step-by-step explanation:
The question pertains to the communications that are required to be made to the audit committee during the course of an audit. Among the options provided, economic trends are typically not a required communication with the audit committee.
Auditors are required to discuss elements such as accounting policies, accounting estimates, and difficulties encountered during the audit, as these are directly relevant to the financial statements and the audit process. However, broad economic trends, while potentially interesting to an audit committee, are generally not a required element of communication because they are not specific to the conduct of the audit or the company's financial statements.