With regard to governance, which of the following is a board-level responsibility rather than a management responsibility?

Question

Options

• AObtaining assurance on external financial, regulatory, and internal audits.
• BComplying with laws, regulations, and codes.
• CAssigning authority and responsibilities organization wide.
• DMonitoring and measuring performance.

• A
  70% (23)
• B
  3% (1)
• C
  9% (3)
• D
  18% (6)

Explanation

Obtaining assurance on external financial, regulatory, and internal audits is a board-level function because the board's core governance role is oversight - they sit above management and rely on audit results to verify that management is operating effectively and ethically. The board doesn't execute the audits; it receives, evaluates, and acts on the assurance those audits provide.

Why the distractors are wrong:

• B (Complying with laws/regulations): Day-to-day compliance is an operational responsibility owned by management, who run the business.
• C (Assigning authority and responsibilities): Structuring the organization and delegating roles is a management function - it's about running operations, not governing them.
• D (Monitoring and measuring performance): Management tracks KPIs, metrics, and results against targets; the board reviews summaries of performance, but the monitoring itself belongs to management.

Memory tip: Think of the board as the "trust but verify" layer - they don't do things, they assure things are being done correctly. Whenever a choice involves receiving independent assurance (i.e., audits), that's the board. Whenever a choice involves doing, complying, assigning, or measuring, that's management.

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