Adequacy of audit committees: A study of deposit banks in Turkey

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to investigate the adequacy of the audit committees in Turkish Banking Sector. Considering national and international legislation, and best practices, audit committees' adequacy involves the issues regarding committees and the responsibilities of committees. Interviews and questionnaires in 6 deposit banks were carried out to investigate the adequacy of the audit committees. The data, collected through the interviews and questionnaires, were analyzed by frequency analyses, alfa test and t-tests. According to the results, a variety of deficiencies were determined in the audit committees' structure and responsibilities of internal control, risk management, accounting and financial reporting, independent auditing, valuation services, and rating bureaus. Although all the banks examined in the study were deposit banks, the adequacy of the audit committees varied according to the banks. Banks' board of directors and the audit committees should update their approach in order to carry out their duties more efficiently.