There should be written terms of reference which clearly spell out the authority and duties of the Audit Committee. The Board should disclose in the company's annual report the names of the members of the AC and the key terms of reference of the AC, explaining its role and the authority delegated to it by the Board.

The AC should have explicit authority to investigate any matter within its terms of reference, full access to and co-operation by Management, full discretion to invite any director or executive officer to attend its meetings, and reasonable resources to enable it to discharge its functions.

In respect of appointments and re-appointments of external auditors, the AC should evaluate the performance of the external auditor, taking into consideration the Audit Quality Indicators Disclosure Framework published by the Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority (ACRA).

The AC should make recommendations to the Board on establishing an adequate, effective and independent internal audit function. For the avoidance of doubt, the internal audit function can be in-house, outsourced to a reputable accounting/auditing firm or corporation, or performed by a major shareholder, holding company or controlling enterprise with an internal audit staff.

The AC should ensure that the internal audit function is adequately resourced and staffed with persons with the relevant qualifications and experience. The AC should also ensure that the internal auditors comply with the standards set by nationally or internationally recognised professional bodies.

The AC should report to the Board how it has discharged its responsibilities and whether it was able to discharge its duties independently. The activities the ACs should report to the Board include:

1. the significant issues and judgements that the AC considered in relation to the financial statements, and how these issues were addressed;
2. the AC’s assessment of the adequacy and effectiveness of internal controls and risk management systems;
3. the AC's assessment of the adequacy, effectiveness and independence of the internal audit function;
4. the AC’s assessment of the independence and objectivity of the external auditors, taking into consideration the requirements under the Accountants Act (Chapter 2) of Singapore, including but not limited to, the aggregate and respective fees paid for audit and non-audit services and the cooperation extended by Management to allow an effective audit;
5. the AC’s assessment of the quality of the work carried out by the external auditors, and the basis of such assessment, such as the use of ACRA’s Audit Quality Indicators Disclosure Framework;
6. the significant matters raised through the whistle-blowing channel.