Relationship between the audit function and effective governance

Extract: As early as 1200 A.D. incorporated guilds in the United Kingdom (UK) required annual audits by a committee of members (Watts et al. 1983). The historical evidence suggests that the audit function evolved as an effective monitoring and bonding technology (Watts et al. 1983) that today consists of an international profession fulfilling regulatory requirements for assurance services. Despite auditing’s long history we might well ask, in the light of financial frauds such as Enron and the demise of their auditor Arthur Anderson, and the recent global financial crisis, does the modern audit function enhance effective governance? Is the audit function relevant to contemporary corporate governance structures?