Auditing Skills: Effective Audit Committees

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Course Overview

Many of the new assurance developments in corporate governance bear down upon audit committees. A token, box-ticking, approach is definitely not enough. Today there is a keener appreciation that the board must be in overall control.

Published financial statements are generally the statements of the members of the board -just at a time when accounting standards are more complex and the pressures on management to turn in results up to market expectations are greater than ever. Keeping under review the independence and objectivity of the statutory auditor is also no mere formality. It is now better appreciated that boards have oversight responsibility not just for internal financial control but for operational and compliance control too - as well as for risk management. With packed board agendas it is no surprise that boards are entrusting to their audit committees much of the hard graft in these areas.

The FRC's Smith Report Audit Committees -Combined Code Guidance and the FRC's revised 2006 Combined Code have significantly tightened up and extended audit committee requirements and responsibilities. The Turnbull Review, effective 2006, also needs to be understood by audit committee members. Now that audit committeesshould comprise, at least for listed companies, exclusively independent non-executive directors, how can they avoid 'committee overload' yet still be effective in terms of their enhanced agendas? US and EU developments are also making an impact.

Audience

The course is designed for directors and others involved with audit committees including audit committee chairmen and members, chief executives, audit committee secretaries, others who attend and serve audit committees, and for internal and external auditors.

Course Outline

• The requirements of the Combined Code
• Implementing the Smith recommendations now incorporated into thisCode
• The Turnbull requirements and implications of the 2005 Turnbull Review
• HM Treasury's new (2006) guidance on audit committees
• Responsibilities of audit committees
• nderstanding and carrying out the audit committee's responsibilities in the areas offinancial reporting, risk management and internal control, whistleblowing, the statutory audit and internal audit matters
• What can safely be left to others -and how?
• here management, other board committees and the board itself can relieve the burden
• The essential duties of the audit committee
• How a good secretariat and others canassist the audit committee
• What can be done for the audit committee outside of audit committee meetings, without the committee losing control of its agenda?
• Streamlined conduct of audit committee meetings
• Ways of using committee time well
• Practical tips for progressing the agenda expeditiously
• How often does the committee need to meet and for how long?
• Making sure the audit committee packs a punch
• Including how to follow-up on audit committee decisions and how to report to the board
• Developments elsewhere
• How US corporate governance debacles have translated themselves into revised audit committee requirements and practices

Auditing Skills: Effective Audit Committees / Effective