The best boardroom and audit committee discussions tend to be sparked by incisive questions. To get a read on directors' concerns and priorities in the emerging business and regulatory environments, we asked a series of pointed survey questions at our Spring Audit Committee Roundtable series, held in 29 cities in May and June. These questions were about information quality, boardroom culture, and risk oversight. They generated a healthy dialogue among the 1,300 directors and senior executives attending the sessions, and they're likely to trigger an enlightening discussion in your boardroom as well.

In this issue of Audit Committee Roundup in Directorship magazine, the Audit Committee Institute's Mary Pat McCarthy poses the questions-in a survey format for readers to use as an informal benchmarking exercise-along with insights from the roundtable discussions.

At a time when expectations for effective oversight are extraordinarily high and the business and regulatory landscapes are fundamentally changing, audit committee and board introspection is time well-spent.