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Roles and responsibilities of audit committees

As an audit committee member, you have an essential role in contributing to your company’s success. Shareholders rely on your judgments as they make investment decisions. Your fellow board members depend on your insights as they consider the company’s risk landscape. Broader stakeholder groups, including regulators, management, employees, customers, and vendors, look to you to promote a culture of governance and compliance that can protect the company and enable it to thrive.

Your success in meeting this ever-expanding mandate requires a clear understanding of the audit committee’s roles and responsibilities. The latest edition of Deloitte’s Audit Committee Guide is intended to help you with this understanding.

While the guide is focused on requirements for US public companies, much of the content can be leveraged by those serving on nonpublic company audit committees.

How to use this guide

This page can be bookmarked and accessed often for the latest resources regarding audit committee requirements, oversight responsibilities, and strategies for promoting effectiveness. Tools and resources are offered on select topics. Topic-focused questions audit committees can consider asking are found throughout the guide, as well as in a separate PDF that assembles the complete set of questions in one document. A PDF with the complete Audit Committee Guide also can be downloaded. This site and supporting documents will be updated regularly to reflect evolving guidance and leading practices.

Inside Deloitte’s Audit Committee Guide

Explore the required structure and composition of the audit committee as well as requirements for charters, independence, financial expertise and literacy, and evaluating performance.

Dive into the audit committee’s responsibility to oversee financial reporting and related internal controls, risk, ethics and compliance, and auditors.

Discover what leading practices audit committees can consider in preparing for and conducting meetings and in executing their oversight responsibilities.

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Get in touch

Krista Parsons

Managing Director, Audit Committee Program Leader

Center for Board Effectiveness

Deloitte & Touche LLP

kparsons@deloitte.com

+1 646 912 4381

Carey Oven

National Managing Partner

Center for Board Effectiveness

Deloitte & Touche LLP

coven@deloitte.com

+1 313 919 5865

Maureen Bujno

Managing Director, Audit & Assurance Governance

Leader

Center for Board Effectiveness

Deloitte & Touche LLP

mbujno@deloitte.com

+1 917 301 6036

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