Audit Committee Governance and Integrated Assurance

Audit committees face significant challenges in expanding their oversight responsibilities to encompass non-financial performance metrics without the expertise, processes, or assurance frameworks traditionally used for financial statement oversight, creating governance gaps that can expose organizations to regulatory, reputational, and operational risks. The complexity of non-financial data verification, the absence of established auditing standards for many ESG metrics, and the need to coordinate with multiple external assurance providers create unprecedented challenges for audit committee effectiveness.

Traditional audit committee structures and processes are inadequate for comprehensive oversight of integrated performance measurement and reporting, particularly given the technical expertise required to evaluate environmental data accuracy, social impact measurement validity, and governance effectiveness assessment quality. The expansion of audit committee responsibilities without corresponding increases in expertise, resources, and assurance infrastructure can lead to superficial oversight that fails to provide adequate protection for the organization and confidence for stakeholders regarding the reliability of non-financial performance claims.

Solutions We Offer Clients

• Audit committee governance framework development to encompass comprehensive financial and non-financial performance oversight
• Board education and training programs on non-financial performance measurement, verification, and assurance requirements
• Internal control system design and implementation for non-financial data collection, verification, and reporting processes
• External assurance provider selection and coordination to ensure comprehensive coverage of financial and non-financial metrics
• Risk assessment framework development to identify material risks in integrated performance measurement and reporting
• Audit committee charter revision and governance process optimization to accommodate expanded oversight responsibilities
• Assurance program design and implementation including third-party verification of sustainability and operational performance data
• Regulatory compliance monitoring and advisory services for evolving audit and assurance requirements across jurisdictions
• Governance coordination strategies to optimize interaction between audit committees and other board oversight functions
• Performance measurement materiality assessment to ensure audit committee focus on most significant risks and opportunities
• Continuous monitoring and reporting system implementation for ongoing oversight of integrated performance metrics
• Crisis management and remediation planning for potential issues in non-financial performance measurement or reporting

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