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  1. Surveys
  2. 2013
  3. May
  4. T
  5. THE EFFECTIVE COMPOSITION OF AUDIT COMMITTEES IN T
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Exit Survey
 
 
Dear Respondent

You are invited to participate in an academic research study conducted by Cornelia Nel, a Masters student from the Department Internal Auditing at the University of Pretoria.

The purpose of the study is to show that there is a need for a clear framework outlining the attributes of public sector audit committee members conducive to an effective audit committee composition that would contribute to good governance.

Your participation in this study is very important to us. This study involves an anonymous survey. Your name will not appear on the responses and the answers you give will be treated as strictly confidential. You cannot be identified in person based on the answers you give. You may, however, choose not to participate and you may also stop participating at any time without any negative consequences.

Please answer the questions in the attached questionnaire as completely and honestly as possible. This should not take more than 15 minutes of your time. The results of the study will be used for academic purposes only and may be published in an academic journal. We will provide you with a summary of our findings on request.

Thank you for your understanding of the importance of academic research and your kind assistance in making this possible. Should there be any additional information that you may require, please do not hesitate to contact my supervisor, Prof. Herman de Jager on (012) 420 4427.

Please start with the survey now by clicking on the Continue button below.
 
 
 
 
1. Please indicate your age by selecting the relevant option:
 
25 - 35 years
 
36 - 49 years
 
50 - 65 years
 
65+ years
 
Do not wish to disclose
 
 
 
2. Please indicate where you are employed or render your services to? Please select the relevant option:
 
National government
 
Provincial government
 
Municipal government
 
 
 
3. Please indicate at which department you are employed or render services to:
   
 
 
 
4. Which professional qualifications do you hold currently?
 
CA(SA) - Chartered Accountant South Africa
 
CFA - Chartered Financial Analyst
 
CIA - Certified Internal Auditor
 
CIMA - Chartered Institute of Management Accountants
 
CISM - Certified Information Security Manager
 
CPA - Certified Public Accountant
 
MBA - Master of Business Administration
 
RGA - Registered Government Auditor
 
SAIPA - South African Institute of Public Accountants
 
No professional designation
 
Other: Please specify

 
 
 
5. Has your department established a formal audit committee?
 
Yes
 
No
 
If no, please indicate why:
 
 
 
6. Does your audit committee have an approved audit committee charter in place?
 
Yes
 
No
 
Not sure
 
 
 
7. Is your audit committee charter reviewed annually and revised accordingly?
 
Yes
 
Not sure
 
No
 
If no, how often is the charter reviewed?
 
 
 
 
8. How many audit committee members are serving currently on your audit committee?
 
Do not know/ unsure
 
Less than 3 members
 
3 members
 
More than 3 members
 
If more than 3 members, please specify the number:
 
 
 
 
9. How many audit committee members come from within the department? Please specify the number:
   
 
 
 
10. How many audit committee members come from outside the public sector? Please specify the number:
   
 
 
11. Please specify the number of audit committee members who are executive members, non-executive members, and the number of Audit Committee Financial Experts:
Executive member
Non-executive member
Audit Committee Financial Expert
 
 
12. How many times per year does your audit committee meet formally?
Times/ year
 
 
 
 
13. Did the quorum of audit committee members attend all the meetings during the year?
 
Yes
 
No
 
 
 
14. Do your audit committee members and yourself receive the material 5 or more working days before the next audit committee meeting to allow for adequate preparation time? Please select the relevant option:
 
Yes
 
No. If no, please specify how many days before the audit committee the material is communicated:
 
 
 
 
15. In your opinion, is your audit committee collectively adequately skilled to discharge their responsibilities?
 
Yes, adequately skilled
 
No, not adequately skilled. Please elaborate should you wish to do so:
 
 
16. How would you rate the knowledge level of each of your audit committee members with regards to the following areas? Please indicate by specifying EXCELLENT(1), GOOD(2), AVERAGE(3) or POOR(4) in the option area. Where not relevant, please mark N/A.
Chairman Financial Expert Member #3 Member #4 Member #5 Member #6 Member #7 Member #8 Member #9 Member #10
Business processes/ acumen
Leadership/ facilitating
Corporate governance
Governance processes within the department (compliance, risk and control)
Risk management practices
IT governance (integrated reporting)
Sustainability
Integrated reporting
Internal audit process
External audit process
Corporate law
Legislative requirements
Financial literacy (internal financial controls)
 
 
17. Do your audit committee members display any of the following attributes listed? Please specify by completing the available block as either YES (Y) or NO (N). Where not relevant, please mark N/A.
Chairman Financial Expert Member #3 Member #4 Member #5 Member #6 Member #7 Member #8 Member #9 Member #10
Courage to ask difficult and relevant questions, but also challenge answers
Dedicated
Encourage openness and transparency
Energy to discharge duties
Healthy scepticism
High level of integrity
Inquisitive and independent judgement
Offer new perspectives
Professional approach
Spends the required time
Consider the competency of external audit and internal audit (CAE)
 
 
 
18. Please indicate which 5 attributes do you consider most important by selecting your 5 top attributes:
 
Courage to ask difficult and relevant questions, but also challenge answers
 
Dedicated
 
Encourage openness and transparency
 
Energy to discharge duties
 
Healthy scepticism
 
High level of integrity
 
Inquisitive and independent judgement
 
Offer new perspectives
 
Professional approach
 
Spends the required time
 
Consider the competency of external audit and internal audit (CAE)

 
 
 
19. Which of the following are appointment criteria for new audit committee members? Please select relevant option(s):
 
Personal qualities
 
Skills and experience
 
Independence
 
Experience
 
Other. Please expand:

 
 
 
20. Is there an induction process in place for new audit committee members i.e. induction pack and/ or induction meeting? Please select the relevant option:
 
Yes
 
No
 
 
 
21. Please indicate which of the following is part of the induction criteria: Please select the relevant option(s):
 
Provision of information or relevant documentation
 
Visit to premises to familiarise and meet staff in informal setting
 
Informal discussions with senior staff regarding their roles
 
Understanding of key relationships
 
Other. Please expand:

 
 
 
22. Do you consider an induction process for new audit committee members a necessity? Please select the relevant option:
 
Yes
 
No. If no, why not?
 
 
 
 
23. Is self monitoring/ assessment performed on the effectiveness of the audit committee? Please select the relevant option:
 
No
 
Yes
 
If yes, how often e.g. annually?
 
 
 
 
24. Which of the following factors forms part of self monitoring/ assessment performed on the effectiveness of the audit committee? Please select the relevant option(s):
 
The audit committee charter
 
The departments' strategies and risk assessments
 
The audit committee control environment
 
Outcome of previous self assessments
 
Stage of maturity of the audit committee
 
Views of stakeholders on corporate governance performance
 
Current and emerging business and economic factors
 
Other, please specify:

 
 
 
25. Are individual audit committee members’ performance evaluations completed on a regular basis? Please select the relevant option:
 
Yes
 
No
 
 
 
26. How often are the individual performance evaluations performed? Please select the relevant option:
 
Quarterly
 
Semi-annually
 
Annually
 
Other. Please specify:
 
 
 
 
27. By whom are the individual performance evaluations performed? Please select the relevant option(s):
 
Chairman
 
Designated audit committee member (financial expert)
 
Non-designated audit committee member (member)
 
AGSA (Auditor General South Africa)
 
Other. Please specify:
 

 
 
 
28. What type of individual performance evaluation is performed? Please select the relevant option(s):
 
Self evaluation
 
Self and external evaluation
 
Survey
 
Other. Please expand:
 

 
 
 
29. Is there a continued professional development process in place, to ensure understanding of the financial, accounting and auditing principles? Please select the relevant option:
 
Yes
 
No
 
 
 
30. How often is training provided/ presented? Please select the relevant option:
 
Monthly
 
Quarterly
 
Semi-annually
 
Annually
 
Other. Please expand:
 
 
 
 
31. In what form is the training presented/ provided? Please select the relevant option(s):
 
Internally
 
Externally
 
Web based
 
Other. Please expand:
 

 
 
On which of the following areas have your audit committee members received training in the form of internally, externally, web based or other ? Please select relevant option(s):
Internally Externally Web based Other
Business processes/ acumen
Leadership/ facilitating
Corporate governance
Governance processes within the department (compliance, risk and control)
Risk management practices
IT governance (integrated reporting)
Sustainability
Integrated reporting
Internal audit process
External audit process
Corporate law
Legislative requirements
Financial literacy (internal financial controls)
Audit committee duties
 
 
 
33. On which of the following areas do you feel is training required for the skills of your audit committee members to be adequate collectively? Please select the relevant option(s):
 
Business processes/ acumen
 
Leadership/ facilitating
 
Corporate governance
 
Governance processes within the department (compliance, risk and control)
 
Risk management practices
 
IT governance (integrated reporting)
 
Sustainability
 
Integrated reporting
 
Internal audit process
 
External audit process
 
Corporate law
 
Legislative requirements
 
Financial literacy (internal financial controls)
 
Audit committee duties
 
Other, please specify:

 
 
 
34. How important do you consider ongoing education for audit committee members?
 
Not sure
 
Not important
 
Important
 
Very important