The Challenge of Improving Corporate Governance by Creating Effective Audit Committees

Even though there are many measures to put corporate governance (CG) in place and practice, an important tool essential for the success is the effective functioning of an audit committee (AC). As the eyes and ears of the board, the AC plays a pivotal role in helping to stop or reverse the rise in reported fraud incidents worldwide. Now-a-days, an AC is being looked upon as a distinct culture for CG and has received a wide-publicity across the globe. Regulation has bolstered the role of the AC in past years. Government authorities, regulators and international bodies all have indicated that they view an AC as a potentially powerful tool that can enhance the reliability and transparency of financial information. Being mandatory under the SEBI’s Clause 49 of the Listing Agreement, an AC can be of great help to the board in implementing, monitoring and continuing ‘good’ CG practices to the benefit of the corporation and all its stakeholders