The implementation and establishment of the audit committee has in turn placed the
internal audit function and head of internal audit under the spotlight in relation to the expectations from the audit committee and the governing body as a whole. The reason for this is attributable to a certain extent by the vast amount of literature and guidelines on the role and responsibilities attached to their counterpart the private sector audit committee. Based on the results obtained from a questionnaire designed to survey the views of Heads of Internal Audit, this article considers the issues affecting the working relationship between the audit committee and the internal audit function (as perceived by the respondents). This is as an opportunity to see whether the state of play fits into the theoretical expectations and assumptions that audit committees and internal audit form the cornerstone of corporate governance.