Accountants—categorized as CPAs, controllers and comptrollers, accounting professors and professionals who have served on accounting standards or oversight boards—doubled their presence on audit committees between 2002 and 2006, growing from 6% to 12% of all committee members, according to a Huron Consulting Group study.
The percentage of audit committees with at least one accountant member also grew during this period, from 21% to 40%; members with accounting backgrounds increasingly filled the role of chairperson, from less than 10% in 2002 to 23% in 2006.
However, the study of 670 audit committee members at 164 public companies found that accountants trail finance professionals in representation on audit committees. Defined as CFOs, treasurers or finance professors, they filled 34% of committee seats and 40% of chairperson positions.
Source: 2007 Audit Committee Research Report , Huron Consulting Group, www.huronconsultinggroup.com.