1616. Without prejudice to section 1551 and the responsibility of the directors of a public-interest entity, the responsibilities of an audit committee established pursuant to that section for an applicable company shall include –

(a) informing directors of the entity of the outcome of the assurance of sustainability reporting and explaining how the assurance of sustainability reporting contributed to the integrity of the sustainability reporting and what the role of the audit committee was in that process,

(b) monitoring the sustainability reporting process of the undertaking, including its electronic reporting process as referred to in section 1600 and the process carried out by the undertaking to identify the information reporting in accordance with the sustainability reporting standards, and submitting recommendations or proposals to the directors of the entity to ensure its integrity,

(c) monitoring the effectiveness of the entity’s internal quality control and risk management systems and, where applicable, its internal audit, regarding the sustainability reporting of the undertaking, including its electronic reporting process as referred to in section 1600, without breaching its independence,

(d) monitoring the assurance of the entity and group sustainability reporting, in particular its performance, taking into account any findings and conclusions by the Supervisory Authority pursuant to Article 26(6) of Regulation (EU) No 537/2014, and

(e) reviewing and monitoring the independence of the statutory auditors or audit firms carrying out the assurance of sustainability reporting of the entity in accordance with section 1621.]