Refocusing the audit committee

One of the audit committees was facing the following challenge:

• an existing audit and risk committee;
• a new executive team;
• a chief executive who wanted to refocus the committee (the existing focus was financial and reactive);
• significant change occurring in the entity; and
• a lack of understanding at some levels about the role of a risk committee.

The committee took this five-stage approach to change:

• change the risk and audit committee composition;
• draft and agree a committee charter;
• reduce the level of involvement of audit, and outline how the balance of time should be spent in the meeting;
• expand the scope of focus on the organisational change; and
• involve the executive team.

The result:

• a well-defined and agreed audit and risk charter;
• a committee that was much more focused on managing risk within the entity and its function in the public sector;
• the senior team using the committee for challenge and understanding aspects of risk; and
• keeping the financial focus as important but limited.