25.52 A company’s board of directors is responsible for evaluating the performance and effectiveness of the audit committee. The audit team should assess the effectiveness of the audit committee as part of its evaluation of the control environment and monitoring components of internal control over financial reporting (and not for the purpose of performing a separate and distinct evaluation of the audit committee). In this regard, the audit team evaluates the audit committee’s oversight of the company’s external financial reporting and internal control over financial reporting by considering factors, such as:
• its independence from management
• the clarity with which responsibilities are articulated
• how well the audit committee and management understand those responsibilities
• the audit committee’s involvement and interaction with internal and external auditors and with key members of management
• whether the audit committee raises and pursues the right questions with management and the auditor, such as those relating to critical accounting policies and accounting estimates