Audit Committee Membership ‐ A New Zealand Perspective

Abstract

This study examines factors related to audit committee membership for a sample of large New Zealand listed companies. This study reveals that non‐executive directors who are independent, and directors with financial expertise, are more likely to be members of audit committees. The results are consistent with the New Zealand Securities Commission’s corporate governance guidelines for audit committees of New Zealand listed companies. However, in the current New Zealand regulatory environment, directors with accounting expertise can include non‐executives affiliated with the firm. In these situations the financial expert is not independent. Remuneration committee members are found more likely to be members of the audit committee. This may be a result of their power and influence or be due to the skills they bring. The number of years that directors serve on the board, the number of other directorships they hold, and the number of shares they own in the company are not related to audit committee membership.

Citation

Rainsbury, E. (2004), "Audit Committee Membership ‐ A New Zealand Perspective", Pacific Accounting Review, Vol. 16 No. 2, pp. 45-69. https://doi.org/10.1108/01140580410818487