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Audit Committees: Legislation Needed to Strengthen Bank Oversight

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Report Type Reports and Testimonies
Report Date Oct. 21, 1991
Report No. AFMD-92-19
Subject
Summary:

Audit committees play an important role in the corporate governance of banks. Their responsibilities include reviewing financial statements and important accounting policies; supervising the audit activities of the internal and external auditors; and monitoring bank internal controls. Typically, audit committees are comprised of several of a bank's outside or nonmanagement directors. GAO studied the audit committees of the largest U.S. banks to assess the extent to which they had the necessary independence, expertise, and information on bank operations to effectively perform their corporate governance functions. GAO found that many of the committees lacked the independence and expertise necessary to properly oversee bank operations. To improve bank oversight, GAO reaffirmed earlier recommendations for legislation that would strengthen the role played by bank audit committees.

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