ACI International Survey Results

First of all, many thanks go to all who participated in our International Survey, as requested in our Audit Committee Quarterly periodical and Roundtable Series.

Participants in the ACI International Survey, held from November 2005 through January 2006, were drawn from the ACI membership and were members of at least one audit committee. Not only do the results therefore reflect real daily experience, they also allow comparison to current practice from all over the world. Not only members of ACI Belgium participated; members of the ACI in the Americas, Asia, Africa and Australia provided input, along with important European countries such as The Netherlands, France and Germany.

The following are some of the significant international facts established by our survey:

· Members of Audit Committees are, for the most part, largely satisfied regarding the effectiveness of their Audit Committee practices (95 percent).

· They are quite worried about their roles and personal liabilities; 77 percent consider the liability of audit committee members to be greater than that of other directors.

· On average, they serve on 2.4 different audit committees and devote 6.5 meetings per year (8.6 in the Americas) to each. Some 50 to 100 hours of their time is given on an annual basis.

Comparing Belgium to the rest of the world reveals some equally significant findings:

· Members of Belgian audit committees are generally far less satisfied about the effectiveness of their audit committee practices.

· One out of three is dissatisfied with their current audit committee self-evaluation. (Internationally, only one out of ten were dissatisfied in this respect.) According to Appendix C of the Code Lippens, an annual self-evaluation is crucial to audit committee effectiveness.

· Regardless of the above concerns, members of Belgian audit committees appear to be less worried about their roles and personal liabilities.

· On average, they serve on 2.1 different audit committees, and devote 5.3 meetings to each committee on an annual basis.

The conclusion may be obvious: given their relatively recent establishment, audit committees in Belgium are probably less experienced compared to their American peers. However, members of Belgian audit committees are becoming more aware of their roles and liabilities as they gain experience, and are cognizant that their personal commitment and audit committee practices must stand the tests of legislative standards and peer comparisons.

You can read more about the background, methods and results of our ACI Survey by downloading the full results free of charge:

- ACI International Survey: Global Survey Highlights

- ACI International Survey: Belgium Country Analysis