Unlike the company's external audit firm, which by regulation must be hired by, report to and be compensated by the audit committee, internal audit has a broader role to play through serving as a resource for both the audit committee and company management. Though this "dual reporting" is a somewhat sensitive arrangement and can be tricky in practice, it nevertheless provides important benefits to the company as a whole, including its overall corporate governance objectives as well as management's objectives for reliable financial reporting, compliance with applicable laws and regulations, and efficiency and effectiveness of operations (the COSO objectives of internal control).