Audit committee

The board committee responsible for overseeing financial reporting, the internal controls, and the relationship with the external auditor.

Its composition is prescribed, with a majority of independent directors and a requirement for financial literacy. Related-party transactions require its approval, and the auditor reports to it.

For an analyst, the committee's meeting count, the attendance of its members, and the disclosure of what it reviewed are all in the corporate governance report. A committee that met the bare minimum number of times at a company with complex related-party dealings has told you how much scrutiny those dealings received.

Where an auditor resigns, this is the committee they raised it with.