Governance and Accountability: The Role of Audit Committee
Abstract
This paper aimed at investigating good governance in and its role in improving the administrative and financial performance, in order to shed light on its financial and administrative transparency practices, accountability indicators, process of information disclosure and accessibility, and the procedures and mechanisms used to control financial and administrative corruption. One can barely come across any term more stimulating than accountability revealing both the idealistic expectations and technical requirements of governance. This paper provided deep insights into the advancements in corporate governance and accountability, and in particular the influence of internal and external factors. In this regard, the paper intended to add onto the available literature on the convergence of national corporate governance systems and the associated implications. The paper further presents important implications for key players in corporate governance development and accountability, audit committee. This paper evaluated and criticized the fragmented contents of the term governance and elaborate the relationships between governance, accountability and audit committee as well. Although accountability is fully considered as a critical element of public administration, it is a crucial question to ask whether there exists an inevitable relation between accountability and governance. The ideal praxis of accountability is best achieved through a centralized concentration of control or through dispersed power and delegated responsibilities. Despite numerous studies done on audit committee and corporate governance, very little empirical research has analyzed the direct and indirect relationships between audit committee and corporate governance and accountability. This paper sought to bridge this research gap by carrying out an in-depth literature review on the audit committee influence on the relationship between audit committee and governance. The paper looks into the role of audit committee on the direct relationship between accountability and governance.
Keywords: Governance, Accountability, Audit Committee, Transparency
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