The 2021 environment may be very much the same.

There are no indications of a dissipation of global economic volatility—driven by trade and geopolitical tensions, resurging debt, technology and business model disruption, elevated cyber risk, regulatory scrutiny, and political gridlock in the U.S. and elsewhere. The pressure insurance company employees, management, their entire board, their audit committees, and governance needs will be significant.

Given the prominence of those risk vectors, prioritizing a heavy audit committee agenda in the insurance industry will be particularly challenging.

Along with the business and the full board, the audit committee will continue to operate against a backdrop of tremendous uncertainty and an uneven economic recovery. Drawing on insights from the KPMG Board Leadership Center / KPMG Audit Committee Institute latest survey work from across industries and interactions with audit committees and business leaders, we highlight what we expect will be the key issues for insurance company audit committees to keep in mind as they consider and carry out their 2021 agendas:

• Take a fresh look at the audit committee’s agenda and workload.
• Monitor the financial reporting and disclosure impacts of COVID-19 on the company’s filings.
• Reinforce audit quality and understand the impact of COVID-19 on the external audit process.
• Work with management to reassess and oversee the scope and quality of the company’s ESG/sustainability reports and disclosures.
• Understand how technology is impacting the finance organization’s talent, efficiency, and value-add.
• Help ensure that internal audit remains focused on the most critical risks, including risks posed by COVID-19.

To read more about the Insurance board agenda, download the full report.