Welcome to the KPMG Board Leadership Centre

​In today‘s dynamic environment, it is critical for audit committee members to assess current processes and responsibilities to add value for their organization, as well as ensure the audit committee’s oversight role is carried out using principles of good governance.

The Audit Committee Guide – Canadian Edition from KPMG in Canada's Board Leadership Centre can help audit committee members keep abreast of how to discharge their duty effectively. It provides timely, relevant, and trusted guidance, offering fundamental frameworks and insights to benefit both new and seasoned audit committee members.

From the new global internal audit standards, environmental, social and governance (ESG) reporting, the speed of technological change including cybersecurity to other emerging complexities, audit committees need to remain current and equipped for change. To do so, audit committee members, and those they work with, need to allocate time for robust discussion and, perhaps most importantly, to understand the tone, culture and rhythm of their organization.

Drawing on insights and learnings from KPMG's interaction with thousands of audit committee members, audit and governance professionals, and business leaders in more than 40 countries worldwide, the guide delves into the challenges and leading practices shaping audit committees today.

As organizations continue to adapt to an ever-changing landscape, boards and audit committees must be prepared to address the new dynamics affecting their oversight roles and the governance of their organizations.

Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) considerations are and will continue to be an integral part of each organization’s strategy and focus going forward. On one hand, there is much guidance and information available in this area, while alternatively, standards and regulations addressing specific areas of reporting are still evolving. Audit committees have responsibilities to ensure their organization’s ESG information that is under their oversight is appropriate and reliable, including information that is publicly released.

Our aim with this guide is to equip audit committees with some of the information they need to provide effective ESG assurance oversight for their organizations. With insight from our Board Leadership Centre (BLC) co-chairs and KPMG’s experienced ESG professionals, this guide presents an analysis of various elements of ESG reporting that may fall within the audit committee’s mandate.

This guide is a supplementary resource to our Audit Committee Guide – Canadian Edition and is intended to be used in tandem for a fulsome overview of the expectations of the audit committee to discharge their duty effectively.

As a follow-up to the Audit Committee Guide – Canadian Edition, the Toolkit for Audit Committees offers an expanded collection of practical and useful frameworks providing audit committee members with examples they can consult and tailor when carrying out certain tasks as part of their oversight duties.

In our interactions with audit committee members, we have learned that for many tasks and activities, it is valuable for audit committee members to have access to generic templates which can be adapted and used within their organization to execute their day-to-day responsibilities. The appendices supplied within the guide and this supplementary toolkit are intended to provide practical support and are not a prescriptive or definitive list of frameworks available to audit committee members.