Examining Audit Committees in the Corporate Governance of Public Bodies

Public bodies have adopted corporate governance regimes from the private sector assuming that accountability and performance will be improved. This paper analyses audit committees in a local public body context, NHS Foundation Trusts (FTs). Audit committees play a key role in enhancing governance. In the adoption of corporate governance, FTs follow the recommendations made by Monitor, the agency that regulates them, that is, a ‘formal’ adoption of corporate governance codes. FTs, however, appear to adapt the role of the audit committee to meet the accountability needs of the wider stakeholders of public hospitals. While audit committees assure (vertical) financial accountability they also provide assurance along horizontal lines of accountability to local communities, professional bodies and other stakeholders.

Keywords:
Corporate governance, Audit Committees, Local Public Bodies, NHS Foundation Trust, Stakeholder theory, Audit Fees, Legal Fees, Consultancy Costs.