COSO has appointed Robert B. Hirth of Protiviti to a three-year term as chairman, replacing David Landsittel effective immediately.

The Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission said Hirth is a “prolific thought leader” and a recognized expert on risk management and internal control. The board selected Hirth because of his deep knowledge and experience in risk management and internal controls, his leadership skills and speaking experience, and his commitment to the success of organizations through effective governance practices.

Landsittel began as COSO chair in 2009 and recently led COSO through a revision of its deeply embedded Internal Control -- Integrated Framework, relied on by most U.S. publicly held companies for achieving compliance with Sarbanes-Oxley internal control reporting requirements. Hirth said in a statement his focus as the new chairman will be to spread the word regarding the benefits of the new framework and the updated concepts it contains. Public companies are generally expected to transition to the updated framework by late 2014, when COSO will regard the original 1992 framework as superseded.

Hirth is a founding managing director of Protiviti, a global consulting firm with than 2,500 employees across 20 countries. He previously served as executive vice president of the internal audit and financial control practice with Protiviti and as a member of the firm's global executive team. He has participated in various activities with many of COSO's five sponsoring organizations, including as a member of Financial Executives International and as an inductee into the Institute of Internal Auditors' American Hall of Distinguished Audit Practitioners. He is currently a member of the Standing Advisory Group of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board.

Landsittel said recently as his term was nearing an end that he plans to remain active with a few board positions he holds, one with a public company listed on Nasdaq. “It's been a rewarding four-year period, and I was blessed to work with top people,” he said.