Audit committees with added value - the NAO's "top tips"

The National Audit Office has launched a new edition of its Audit Committee Handbook. While it is primarily intended for audit committees of government organisations, other audit committee members may find it useful.

Alongside the Audit Committee Handbook there is a self-assessment checklist and a guide to “adding value”. The latter includes some practices that many audit committees would consider to be fairly routine or standard. However, it does suggest some practices that are less common but would certainly add value such as:

- calling appropriate business heads to meetings to explain how they are delivering on their agreed actions or on risks for which they are responsible; and

- improving communication between audit committee chairs and auditors with meetings outside of the formal committee meetings.