The course has been developed to address the specific professional development needs of audit committees. It has been developed by one of Australia’s preeminent auditing specialists, Bruce Turner, who combines both extensive chief audit executive and audit committee experience to deliver a ‘world class’ learning experience.

The course will be delivered through five interactive sessions that combine the theory and practice of audit committees with case studies, exercises, and reflective thinking.

Key topics and tangibles

1. Legislative and regulatory requirements

  - Leading practices across the world

  - Strong effective audit committees

  - Clear accountability for risk management and internal control

  - Structure and operations of internal audit (including professional standards)

  - Reporting lines of the Chief Audit Executive (organisational independence)

2. Role and emerging expectations of contemporary audit committees

  - Policy considerations

  - Purpose, mandate, responsibilities and coverage

  - Understanding key definitions (eg accountability, independence, objectivity, public interest, value)

  - Key features from better practice publications

  - Contributing value to the entity

3. Techniques for running effective audit committee meetings

  - Stakeholder engagement

  - Leveraging the individual capability of committee members

  - Annual meeting calendar

  - Setting the forward agenda and individual meeting agendas

  - Getting the right support with clear, concise, and meaningful reporting

4. Key Governance features of audit, risk management and compliance

  - Insights from the Governance lighthouse

  - Risk management and internal control frameworks (including fraud & corruption prevention)

  - External accountability (including published financial statements)

  - Compliance with applicable laws and regulations

  - Internal and external audit delivery

5. Three-pillars approach for measuring and reporting audit committee’s contribution

  - Compliance with charter obligations

  - Participation of Audit Committee members

  - Value added activities pursued and outcomes achieved

  - Making connections (ie emerging issues; culture; strategy; patterns, trends, systemic issues)

  - Audit Committee reporting (both internally and externally focused)

Audit Committee Essentials is facilitated by Stephen Horne, who is an Independent Member of eleven (11) Audit & Risk Committees', is a qualified Company Director, Company Secretary and Internal Auditor, and has been a CEO and Assistant Auditor-General (NSW).

All inquiries to admin@iianz.org.nz