Audit committees in government departments : an internal audit perspective

The establishment of audit committees in South African national government departments is not only a legal requirement. These committees must perform certain activities as to be an accountability instrument in the department. Audit committees must perform functions relating to: Risk management; financial reporting oversight; internal control and corporate governance. This study evaluates the performance of audit committees with regard to the abovementioned categories, as assessed by the heads of internal audit of these departments.