Enhancing the effectiveness of audit committees is an ongoing journey. Indeed since 2002, much has already been achieved. Today's audit committees are more powerful, but they also have a far more onerous workload and more responsibilities. The frequency of committee meetings has increased substantially, and rules dictating its composition and independence have emerged.

As co-authors Maureen J. Sabia and Jim Goodfellow point out, rules alone will not be enough. However, rules provide the foundation to build relationships that will ensure a more effective audit committee and the integrity of a company's financial information.

The importance of maintaining focus on the critical issues of relationships, leadership and behaviours are topics that will assume greater importance in the future than mere compliance. The second edition places greater emphasis on these issues and focuses more emphatically on the need for the chairman of the audit committee to provide leadership. Integrity in the Spotlight: Audit Committees in a High Risk World follows the same format as the first edition, but it reflects the updated regulatory environment, deals with issues arising from that changed environment, and provides an enhanced focus on establishing, managing and nurturing effective relationships among the board of directors, the audit committee, management and the external auditors.

Moreover, in recognition of the publicity surrounding some recent failures in the integrity of financial information, and some other corporate scandals, a new chapter provides some guidance to audit committees that find themselves in crisis situations.