Last year was a challenging one for Samuel's Snowboards Inc. (SSI), a large private company that manufactures snowboards and skateboards. Competition has increased in the industry and, in the skateboard segment in particular, SSI lost significant market share. The poor performance of the skateboard segment, which represented a major line of business, led to a recent decision to discontinue this segment and focus on manufacturing snowboards only.

Each year, the audit has gone smoothly. You recently met with Jackson Churchill, the chief financial officer of SSI, to review the draft financial statements for 2019. Jackson noted that sales and earnings were much lower in 2019 than had been budgeted. He expressed concern that this will surely displease the shareholders, who rely on SSI for healthy quarterly dividend payments. He explained to you that management will also be disappointed because year-end bonuses are, in part, calculated based on income from continuing operations.

You, CPA, are the audit senior on the SSI engagement. SSI has been a client of your firm for three years. You realize that SSI's board of directors does not have an audit committee.

Question 1: Why is an audit committee an essential component of corporate governance?

Question 2: What advice would you give on the important characteristics an effective audit committee should possess?