The Board of Directors and Audit Committee Guide to Fiduciary Responsibilities

CHAPTER SIX

Leverage Internal Audit and Outside Resources

SOLID REPUTATIONS take years to earn, but they can be destroyed with just one bad decision. No type of organization is immune to this risk. For example, nonprofits that experience lapses in internal controls that lead to the disclosure of internal control deficiencies suffer with fewer donations for years, according to Christine Petrovits, Catherine Shakespeare, and Aimee Shih.¹

The oversight of auditors, financial statements, controls, risks, and other duties adds up to be an incredibly daunting task. A properly utilized internal audit function can serve as the audit committee’s eyes and ears. In this chapter, we look at the internal audit mandate, internal audit oversight, setting the ...