An effective audit committee is a cornerstone of good governance and much has been written about what audit committees should do. But knowing what to do is only part of the issue. In order to be effective audit committees also need to know how to do it.

This Good Practice Guide aims to address the how rather than the what. It was commissioned by the Housing Corporation and financed, in part, by an Innovation and Good Practice Grant. The Guide is based, in part, on research into current practice and also reflects the authors' own and their colleagues' experience of attending audit committee meetings.

It includes chapters on what the audit committee does and does not do, selecting the chair and members of the audit committee, planning the committee's work programme, procuring audit services and assessing and appraising the audit committee's effectiveness.