More on the evolving audit committee

A new study by professors at Boston College and Northeastern University sheds light on the evolving audit committee. At many companies, the audit committee has indeed become a more forceful player. But while Section 301 gives audit committees responsibility for hiring audit firms, many still defer to management. In fact, more CEOs seem to be taking a more active role in retaining audit firms. Also, audit committees still tend to be passive about resolving disputes between management and its audit firm. Often, settlements and agreements are post-factor brought to the committee for sign-off. So audit committees still have a ways to go before they fulfill the vision laid out by Sarbanes Oxley. But you have to think that management prefers committees this way--empowered but not too empowered.  

For more:
- here's a summary of the study by cfo.com

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