Audit Committee

An independent Audit Committee oversees the Department of Foreign Affairs' systems of accountability.

What the Audit Committee does

The role of the Audit Committee is set out in its Charter. 

The Audit Committee provides an independent appraisal of our:

• Risk management and internal control systems
• Audit and evaluation arrangements

It follows up the recommendations from evaluations and audits and sees that they are implemented.

It also reports to the Secretary General and works with the Comptroller and Auditor General.

The Audit Committee publishes an annual report on its work (download below).

Audit Committee Members

The Audit Committee's membership have backgrounds in audit, risk management, overseas development assistance and public administration. The Committee usually meets at least six times a year. The current members are:

Chairperson

• Mr Bill Cunningham (appointed May 2020, and as Chairperson with effect from March 2023) is a retired chartered accountant and former senior partner at PricewaterhouseCoopers.  Bill also chairs the Audit Committee of the Mater Hospital Group and holds a number of non-executive directorships in the public, not-for-profit and private sectors.

Members

• Dr Susan Murphy (appointed June 2021), is an associate professor in international development practice, Trinity College Dublin. She is the principal investigator of a European Research Council award, examining the geographies of dynamic governance assemblages in development cooperation civil society spaces and directs the Climate Justice in Development research group. She was Chair of the Board of Trustees, Oxfam Ireland (2018-2023).
• Mr Derek Moran (appointed September 2021) is a former Secretary General of the Department of Finance and is currently a member of the Scottish Government’s Exchequer Board. 
• Ms. Josephine Mooney (Appointed April 2023), is a qualified accountant and a retired Deputy Director of the Office of the Comptroller and Auditor General. 
• Dr. Nicolas Marcoux (Appointed June 2023), is a Senior Governance Specialist at the Institute of Public Administration. Prior to joining the IPA, Nicolas worked for the European Union Commission in various development and assistance capacities. He was the first Director of the Foundation for Human Rights in South Africa. 
• Anne Matthews (appointed September 2023), is a Full Professor of Nursing at the School of Nursing, Psychotherapy & Community Health at Dublin City University (DCU). She has worked in nursing, midwifery, health and social research, education, policy and practice in Ireland, England and Malawi.