Cybersecurity and the performance of the CFO are among their worries.
Audit committees are perennially concerned about all manner of things–the economy and politics, regulation and public policy and their own company’s operations and cybersecurity–and now they’re beginning to worry that it may all be a bit too much.
Three out of four audit committee members responding to a survey from KPMG told the auditing giant that the amount of time it takes to perform their role has increased significantly (by about a quarter), or moderately (by more than half). And, half of the 1,500 audit committee members polled around the world also told KPMG their job continues to become more challenging.
“The accelerating speed and complexity of business and risk are stretching and straining many audit committee agendas,” audit committee members told KPMG, for the 2015 Global Audit Committee Survey, published Jan. 27.
One solution more boards are coming up with? Sharing the burden. The survey found that over one-third of boards have reorganized responsibilities, so that risk oversight duties are shared among more committees and board members. In last year’s Audit Committee Institute survey, KPMG noted, only 25 percent of audit committee members said they had done the same.
When it comes to forming agendas and prioritizing, cybersecurity, especially in the U.S., is of prime importance for audit committee members.
But these board members also want to keep a careful eye on the Chief Financial Officer, the survey showed.
“Assessments of CFO performance and interactions with the audit committee are generally viewed as effective,” KPMG reported, “yet more than 40 percent of audit committee members say the committee is “not effective” in CFO succession planning (clearly a pressing issue given the rate of CFO turnover). Many audit committees would like to hear about various aspects of the finance organization’s work—financial risk management, capital allocation, tax, debt—in greater depth.”
In addition, audit committee members told KPMG that most of the information they receive from management is good, but they still have concerns about getting the best possible intelligence about cyber risk, and about innovation and technology, among other concerns.
For more:
– download the Audit Committee Institute Global Audit Committee Survey here
