Our findings have several implications for governance research in general. First, we highlight the importance of audit committees in monitoring financial reporting in the governmental setting where members of a board of city commissioners or city council may lack the expertise necessary to effectively manage a government’s finances. Moreover, our findings that the audit committee independence and financial expertise do not influence associations between audit committees and
internal control weaknesses, while non-independent audit committees with financial expertise relate to fewer internal control problems, has implications for regulators and others currently contemplating the importance of audit committee composition in the governmental sector.