FRAUD and other dodgy conduct have reared their ugly heads at more than a few Singapore-listed companies in recent years.
Members of the audit committees of listed companies feel they are not so well-equipped to monitor such irregularities.
They are, therefore, now seeking more practical guidance in the form of checklists of critical issues and best practices guides.
A new survey by the Audit Committee Guidance Committee (ACGC) has found that audit committee members of listed companies welcome greater practical guidance in those areas.
The ACGC commissioned the Singapore Management University School of Accountancy to conduct the survey on the practical difficulties and challenges faced by audit committees in doing their job.
Conducted in March and April, the survey received responses from 199 individuals. The respondents indicated that audit committees place the greatest emphasis on compliance with the law and regulations, financial reporting and external auditing, while risk management received the lowest emphasis.
They also said they would like to have practical guidance on risk management, fraud and internal controls in the form of checklists of critical issues and best practice guides. More training is also needed in technical areas such as accounting standards and taxation, the survey showed.
Audit committees, which are required to have a majority of non-executive directors, are typically tasked to ensure that a firm has internal controls and risk-management procedures in place to guard against financial irregularities.
The ACGC was set up earlier this year by the Monetary Authority of Singapore, the Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority and the Singapore Exchange, to develop guidance to assist audit committees in practical aspects and the scope of their work.
This article was first published in The Straits Times on Jun 12, 2008
