Four new roles for your audit committee.

• Author: Marshall, Jeffrey
• Position: Governance - Public sector

Over the past several years, the audit committee of a public company board has gone from being a quiet place to nap after lunch to become a high-pressure, high-skill keystone of governance and legal oversight. What about the person who leads this spotlight group today? What's the profile for the next-generation audit committee chair?

* Targeted auditing expertise. Five years ago, it was okay to be the AC chair just because you rotated into the slot. Today, you're expected to have "financial literacy" (or, at least someone on the committee is required to have it). Tomorrow, "we'll want people with much greater depth in financial accounting or audit," says David Sinason, an accounting professor at Northern Illinois University and author. Look for "more people with specific auditing experience to head the committee," he predicts. Audit is a specialized field, and accounting or finance background just isn't the same.

* Has very strong business communication skills. "The network of relationships the chair must navigate now is more complex," notes Peter Rossiter, an attorney with the firm of Schiff Hardin. AC chairmen must reach outside the boardroom to work and communicate fully, yet sensitively, with the outside audit partner, inside audit staff, counsel and top management. People skills are far more important--especially when the...