Audit Committee | Center for Corporate Governance

Key responsibilities of the audit committee include:

Having an effective relationship with management, the internal auditors, and the independent auditor
Taking a "risk-intelligent" governance approach
Overseeing the establishment of appropriate controls and antifraud programs
Overseeing dissemination of earnings press releases, financial information, and earnings guidance
Monitoring a robust code of ethics
Establishing a process for investigating allegations, especially those against senior management.

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Audit Committee Brief, June 2010

Audit Committee Composition

Audit committees should make sure they have the right composition to manage the complexity of their role. To be most effective, audit committees should periodically reassess the optimal mix of committee members, taking into account regulations and requirements; changes in the business; and the skills, experiences, diversity, time commitments, tenure, and rotation of its members. This edition of the Brief reviews the requirements and some leading practices regarding audit committee composition.

Publication date: 6/2010 | File size: 531 KB

Audit Committee Resource Guide

Deloitte's Audit Committee Resource Guide helps audit committee members and management better understand the requirements, roles, and responsibilities of the audit committee. A sample charter and planning tool for an audit committee's calendar of activities are also included.

Publication date: 4/2010 | File size: 6.3 MB

Planning Tool: Audit Committee Calendar

This Deloitte tool helps audit committees plan their annual activities and meeting agendas. It considers the requirements for the audit committees of U.S. public companies, including NYSE- and NASDAQ-listed companies, as well as common practices in the marketplace.

Publication date: 4/2010 | File size: 1.3 MB

Sample Audit Committee Charter

Released by Deloitte, this sample audit committee charter is based on a review of selected Fortune 1000 company charters, as well as the requirements of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 and the NYSE and NASDAQ corporate-governance listing standards.

Publication date: 4/2010 | File size: 1.8 MB

Financial Literacy Self-Assessment Tool

It is a leading practice for companies to have a formal process for assessing the financial literacy of their audit committee members. Deloitte has published a financial literacy toolkit to assist company management and audit committee members in evaluating their own financial literacy.

Publication date: 4/2010 | File size: 159 KB

Audit Committee Leading Practices and Trends

This document summarizes certain leading practices for audit committees. It can be used to assess audit committee practices and to discuss agendas and other considerations with the audit committee chairman.

Publication date: 4/2010 | File size: 55 KB

Audit Committee Dynamics

Focus on committee composition, including independence, financial expertise, broad business or leadership experience, and succession planning.
Having four or five audit committee members is usually considered most effective.
Consider crisis preparedness.
Conduct an annual committee self-evaluation.
Consider periodically rotating audit committee members.
Encourage discussion—not presentation—at meetings.
Participate in audit committee education activities.
Engage independent advisers, as necessary.
Consider including routine compliance items in advance materials, with the understanding that they will be discussed only if committee members have questions.

Audit Committee Effectiveness Center

The AICPA presents the guidance and tools to make audit committee best practices actionable.