Template
Audit committee meeting template
Board members check that the accounts are right, the controls work and the risks are watched: they hear from finance, the auditors and internal audit, and meet the auditors without management present.
The agenda, with a time for each part
- Minutes and actions from last time5 min
- Is everything from last time done?
- The accounts and key judgements25 min
- Which numbers depended most on judgement, and why are they right?
- Controls and internal audit findings20 min
- What did internal audit find, and is it fixed?
- Risks15 min
- Which risks have grown, and are they being managed?
- External auditors15 min
- Is anything about to appear in your report that we should know now?
- Auditors alone, without management10 min
- Is there anything you could not say with management in the room?
How the notes read afterwards
A made-up example, so you can see the shape. In a real call each line carries the words that were said and who said them.
Judgement. A $400k provision for a customer dispute; the committee asks for the legal view in writing.
Internal audit. Two people can approve their own expenses; fixed by the 30th (finance director).
Auditors. No concerns; they will mention the dispute in their letter.
Alone. Nothing raised.
Running it well
- Spend the time on the judgements, not the arithmetic. Revenue recognition, provisions and valuations are where accounts go wrong.
- Always keep time with the auditors alone. It is the committee's best early warning.
- Track every audit finding to a named owner and a date until it is closed.
Ways to change it
When to skip it. Never in a year with external accounts to sign off.
Questions
What does an audit committee do?
It oversees financial reporting, internal controls, risk management and the relationship with the external auditors on behalf of the board.
Who sits on an audit committee?
Usually independent non-executive directors, at least one with recent financial experience; management attends by invitation.
Why does the audit committee meet the auditors without management?
So the auditors can raise concerns about management or the accounts freely.
What happens in the room
Everybody joins from the link, with no account. The agenda sits beside the call and each item fills in with what was said about it, under the name of the person who said it.
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