ABSTRACT
This chapter considers the steps for establishing an effective audit committee with a credible membership, appropriate mandate, meaningful performance reporting, a continuous improvement philosophy, and a willingness to champion leading practices. It also highlights the challenges in managing situations when the principles of the audit committee member and organization are not in alignment, and the difficult decision to release a chief audit executive for wrongdoing. The public sector is starting to reap the benefits of appointing people with similar attributes to a company secretary to develop and drive the professionalism of the secretariat function. The public sector entity's governing body (i.e. board where there is one, council, CEO, secretary, or director general) is increasingly recognizing that the secretariat function is no longer a simple administrative role that anyone can do. The company secretary plays a vital role in supporting the effectiveness of the audit committee by monitoring compliance with the audit committee's mandate.
