The members of audit committees feel more exposed to legal action than other board members but are not remunerated significantly more than other non-executives.

Research conducted by KPMG of 1200 audit committee members in 17 countries, found that this sentiment was especially marked in the US and Canada but remained generally high in all countries.

Tim Copnell, director of KPMG’s UK audit committee institute said the results suggested that non-executives were more concerned than chief executives and FDs, because they felt they did not always see the 'full picture' as part time executives.

'Companies on both sides of the Atlantic say it is becoming harder to recruit quality members onto their audit committees, and this looks set to continue,' said Copnell.