2025 Audit Committee Survey

Increasing business complexity, geopolitical and economic uncertainty, digital and data activities, environmental, social, and governance (ESG) reporting requirements, and other macrotrends are intensifying pressures on the risk and control environment in new and unexpected ways.

To gain a better understanding of the impact of these uncertainties and disruption on audit committees, their workload, and their oversight responsibilities, we surveyed 40 audit committee members and chairs from Belgium and the Netherlands (BeNe).

The following are some of the key takeaways from our BeNe survey findings.

1. The audit committee’s focus and agenda are being impacted by macrotrends and related risks and complexity: 88% say that the increased complexity of the business and risk environment – e.g., cybersecurity, AI, supply chains, workforce challenges – has the greatest impact.
2. The audit committee’s risk oversight responsibilities continue to expand: 90% of audit committees have primary or significant oversight responsibility over cybersecurity and 73% have primary or significant oversight responsibility over data privacy.
3. As risks continue to evolve, it’s important for the company’s risk management and reporting capability to keep pace: While 76% of audit committees believe their company’s risk management and reporting capability is either sophisticated or at least keeping pace with the risk environment, 57% are still at least somewhat concerned about their company’s ability to maintain critical alignments – e.g. culture and purpose, strategy and risk, compliance and controls, incentives, performance metrics, and people – given the disruptions and complexities of the business and risk landscape.
4. In addition to their regular reporting to the board, audit committees are also spending time with the company’s C-suite: 88% of audit committees are satisfied or somewhat satisfied that the company’s C-suite executives are effectively coordinating and aligning their responsibilities for risk, internal controls, value creation, and related communications and reporting.
5. The ever-evolving risk landscape, and by extension audit committee oversight responsibility, has an impact on audit committee workload and skills and composition requirements: 62% have at least some concerns about the audit committee’s composition and skill sets, 33% of which are concerned over the lack of expertise in cybersecurity and technology.

These views were collected as part of a global survey of audit committee members and chairs, conducted by the KPMG US Board Leadership Center from February through April 2025.

In addition to the BeNe results, the report includes an appendix with the global survey results from 668 audit committee members and chairs from 35 countries. The detailed results from the seven individual regions and countries that received 30 or more responses are also included in the appendix.

We hope the findings will help spark robust conversations with your audit committee, board, and management as you navigate the challenges ahead.

KPMG’s Board Leadership Center (BLC) offers non-executive and executive board members – and those working closely with them – a place within a community of board-level peers. Through an array of insights, perspectives and events – including topical seminars and more technical Board Academy sessions – the BLC promotes continuous education around the critical issues driving board agendas.