International Audit Committee Survey

Kpmg'S Audit Committee Institute

Description

Audit Committee Institute –International Audit Committee SurveyADVISORY International Audit Committee SurveyKPMG’s Audit Committee Institutes around the world have joined together to undertake a survey of AuditCommittees. The survey explores, on an international and local basis, Audit Committee practices, trends and future developments in Public Companies. The survey results will be made available through KPMG’s Audit Committee Institutes in Australia and internationally in early 2006.We would appreciate your help and ask you to complete this survey. It should take no more than 20 minutes to complete. In return for your assistance, we would be happy to send to you a personal copy of the results to share with your Board. Please return your completed survey by 13 January 2006 to:Reply Paid 2291MELBOURNE VIC 8060Responding to the questionsFor questions that relate to a specific Audit Committee (or similar e.g. combined Audit and Risk Committee),please respond based on the largest Public Company (by revenue) for which you serve as an Audit CommitteeMember.If you believe there are additional topics or specific questions that should be incorporated into similar surveys in the future, please provide us with your suggestions at the end of the survey. Thank you for your valued participation.© 2005 KPMG, an Australian partnership, is part of the KPMG International network. KPMG International is a Swiss cooperative. All rights reserved. The KPMGlogo and ...

Informations

• Publié par: Orgio
• Nombre de lectures: 77
• Langue: English

Extrait

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Please return your completed survey by 13 J anuary 2006 to: Reply Paid 2291 MELBOURNE VIC 8060

Responding to the questions For questions that relate to a specific Audit Committee (or similar e.g. combined Audit and Risk Committee), please respond based on the largest Public Company (by revenue) for which you serve as an Audit Committee Member.

The survey results will be made available through KPMG’s Audit Committee Institutes in Australia and internationally in early 2006.

We would appreciate your help and ask you to complete this survey. It should take no more than 20 minutes to complete. In return for your assistance, we would be happy to send to you a personal copy of the results to share with your Board.

International Audit Committee Survey

KPMG’s Audit Committee Institutes around the world have joined together to undertake a survey of Audit Committees. The survey explores, on an international and local basis, Audit Committee practices, trends and future developments in Public Companies.

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Thank you for your valued participation.

If you believe there are additional topics or specific questions that should be incorporated into similar surveys in the future, please provide us with your suggestions at the end of the survey.

Audit Committee Institute – International Audit Committee Survey A D V I S O RY

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I n t e r n a t i o n a l A u d i t C o m m i tt e e S u r v e y 1 Composition and characteristics 1) How many members, including the Chair, serve on your Audit Committee? 2) How important are the following types of backgrounds and experiences for an Audit Committee to have in general? (Please select one level of importance for each item) Experience/background Very important Somewhat important Not important Corporate Director ❑ ❑ ❑ CEO or President ❑ ❑ ❑ External Auditor ❑ ❑ ❑ CFO, or other experience in accounting/finance ❑ ❑ ❑ Industry experience ❑ ❑ ❑ Broad business experience ❑ ❑ ❑ Strategic planning ❑ ❑ ❑ Legal ❑ ❑ ❑ 3) How important are the following personal characteristics for an Audit Committee Member? (Please select one level of importance for each item) Experience/background Very important Somewhat important Not important Sufficient time ❑ ❑ ❑ Intelligence ❑ ❑ ❑ Integrity ❑ ❑ ❑ Candour ❑ ❑ ❑ Ability to communicate and negotiate difficult issues ❑ ❑ ❑ Public prof ile and image ❑ ❑ ❑ Business contacts ❑ ❑ ❑ 4) Are all members of the Audit Committee ‘financially literate’ (i.e. are able to read and understand financial statements)? (Please select one) ❑ Yes ❑ No ❑ Unsure © 2005 KPMG, an Australian partnership, is part of the KPMG International network. KPMG International is a Swiss cooperative. All rights reserved. The KPMG logo and name are trademarks of KPMG.

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2 I n t e r n a t i o n a l A u d i t C o m m i tt e e S u r v e y

4a) If no, how many members of the Audit Committee are ‘financially literate’? (Please select one) ❑ One ❑ Two ❑ Three ❑ Four ❑ Other (please specify): 5) How important is it for the Audit Committee to have one or more members with ‘financial expertise’ (i.e. is a qualified accountant or other financial professional with experience in financial accounting matters) in accordance with the ASX Corporate Governance Council’s recommendation 4.3? (Please select one) ❑ Very important ❑ Somewhat important ❑ Not important ❑ Unsure 6) Does the Audit Committee include at least one member w ho has ‘financial expertise’? (Please select one) ❑ Yes ❑ No, but we expect to appoint a financial expert within the next year ❑ No, and we do not expect to appoint a financial expert within the next year ❑ Unsure 6a) If yes, how many members of the Audit Committee are considered to have ‘financial expertise’? (Please select one) ❑ One ❑ Two ❑ Three ❑ Four ❑ Other (please specify): 7) In your opinion, how significant is the risk that your Audit Committee will too often defer to the financial expert/s? (Please select one) ❑ It’s a signif icant risk ❑ It’s somewhat of a risk ❑ It’s not a real risk ❑ No financial expert has been appointed ❑ Unsure Time commitment 8) How many Audit Committee meetings, including teleconferences, were held last year? ❑ Number of meetings in which members met face-to-face ❑ Number of meetings in which members met via teleconference / videoconference 9) What is the average length of face-to-face Audit Committee meetings, in hours?

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I n t e r n a t i o n a l A u d i t C o m m i tt e e S u r v e y 3

10) What is the average length of teleconferenced/videoconferenced Audit Committee meetings, in hours? 11) How much time do you expect to spend this financial year fulfilling your role as an Audit Committee Member (excluding other board responsibilities), including all related meetings and preparation time? (Please select one) ❑ Less than 50 hours ❑ 50-100 hours ❑ 101-150 hours ❑ 151-200 hours ❑ 201-250 hours ❑ More than 250 hours 12) How satisfied are you that the Audit Committee devotes an appropriate amount of time and attention to its duties? (Please select one) ❑ Very satisfied ❑ Somewhat satisfied ❑ Needs to spend more time ❑ Unsure Setting the agenda and preparation 13) How satisfied are you with the approach used to establish the Audit Committee’s annual agenda and work plan? (Please select one) ❑ Very satisf ied ❑ Somewhat satisf ied ❑ Needs improvement ❑ Unsure 14) Who has the primary responsibility for supporting the Audit Committee Chair in establishing the Audit Committee’s annual agenda and work plan? (Please select one) ❑ CEO ❑ CFO ❑ Head of Internal Audit ❑ External Audit partner ❑ Company Secretary/General Counsel ❑ Other (please specify): 15) Are Audit Committee meeting agendas and related papers circulated in a timely manner to enable full and proper consideration prior to each meeting? (Please select one) ❑ Yes, always ❑ Usually ❑ Sometimes ❑ Rarely or never

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4 I n t e r n a t i o n a l A u d i t C o m m i tt e e S u r v e y

16) How would you rate the quality of the pre-Audit Committee meeting materials provided to your Audit Committee? (Please select one) ❑ High quality ❑ Moderate quality ❑ Low quality 17) Is a standard template used for papers coming to the Audit Committee (i.e. for providing information, recommendations or requiring decisions)? (Please select one) ❑ Yes ❑ No ❑ Unsure 18) What is the usual time between the Audit Committee meeting and the meeting of the full Board? (Please select one) ❑ Same day ❑ 1-3 days ❑ 4-7 days ❑ More than 7 days ❑ Varies over the year Relationship with Internal and External Auditor 19) Is the company’s Internal Audit function: (Please select one) ❑ In-house ❑ Out-sourced ❑ Co-sourced ❑ The company does not maintain an Internal Audit function 20) How confident are you that your company’s Internal Auditor would directly report any controversial issues involving senior management to the Audit Committee? (Please select one) ❑ Very confident ❑ Somewhat confident ❑ Not confident ❑ Unsure ❑ The company does not maintain an Internal Audit function 21) Who has the ultimate authority to hir e/fire the Internal Auditor? (Please select one) ❑ Audit Committee or Audit Committee Chair ❑ Board as a whole ❑ Chairman of the Board or Lead Director ❑ General Counsel ❑ CEO ❑ CFO ❑ Other (please specify): ❑ The company does not maintain an Inter nal Audit function

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I n t e r n a t i o n a l A u d i t C o m m i tt e e S u r v e y 5

22) How effective is the Audit Committee at helping to ensure the External Auditor is independent from management and is accountable to the Audit Committee? (Please select one) ❑ Very effective ❑ Somewhat effective ❑ Needs improvement ❑ Unsure 23) How satisfied are you with the Audit Committee’s approach to evaluating the performance of the External Auditor? (Please select one) ❑ Very satisfied ❑ Somewhat satisfied ❑ Needs improvement ❑ Unsure 24) In your opinion, who has the most influence over the compensation of the External Auditor? (Please select one) ❑ CEO ❑ CFO ❑ Audit Committee or Audit Committee Chair ❑ Internal Auditor ❑ Other (please specify): Risk and reward of Audit Committee Members 25) How concerned are you about the potential for personal financial exposure as an Audit Committee Member? (Please select one) ❑ Very concerned ❑ Somewhat concerned ❑ Not concerned 26) In your opinion, how do the legal obligations/financial exposures of Audit Committee Members compare with those of other Board Members? (Please select one) ❑ Significantly greater for Audit Committee Members ❑ Somewhat greater for Audit Committee Members ❑ About the same ❑ Unsure ❑ Other (please specify): 27) How satisfied are you that your Directors & Officers liability insurance coverage adequately minimises your personal financial exposure? (Please select one) ❑ Very satisfied ❑ Somewhat satisf ied ❑ Not satisfied ❑ Unsure

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6 I n t e r n a t i o n a l A u d i t C o m m i tt e e S u r v e y

28) How important is the level of compensation in your decision to serve as an Independent Director? (Please select one) ❑ Very important ❑ Somewhat important ❑ Not very important 29) How satisfied are you with the compensation you receive as an Audit Committee Member? (Please select one) ❑ Very satisfied ❑ Somewhat satisfied ❑ Not very satisfied Oversight of enterprise wide risk management 30) Who holds the primary responsibility for defining the company’s risk appetite? (Please select one) ❑ Board ❑ Audit Committee or combined Audit and Risk Committee ❑ Risk Committee (separate to the Audit Committee) ❑ Other Board Committee ❑ CEO ❑ CFO ❑ Management Committee ❑ Other (please specify): ❑ Risk appetite not formally defined 31) Does the company take an enterprise wide view of risk? (Please select one) ❑ Yes ❑ No ❑ Unsure 32) How satisfied are you with the Board and/or Committee oversight of enterprise wide risk management? (Please select one) ❑ Very satisfied ❑ Somewhat satisf ied ❑ Needs improvement ❑ Enterprise wide view of risk not in place ❑ Unsure

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33) Who holds the primary responsibility for monitoring the risk associated with major projects e.g. capital projects, major IT projects etc (Please select one) ❑ Board ❑ Audit Committee or combined Audit and Risk Committee ❑ Risk Committee (separate to the Audit Committee) ❑ Other Board Committee ❑ CEO ❑ CFO ❑ Management Committee ❑ Other (please specify): ❑ Unsure 34) How satisfied are you with management’s process to identify and appropriately address all areas of enterprise risk, including financial and non-financial risk? (Please select one) ❑ Very satisfied ❑ Somewhat satisfied ❑ Needs improvement ❑ Unsure 35) Does management regularly provide updated risk profile information to the Audit Committee? (Please select one) ❑ Yes ❑ No ❑ Unsure 36) How satisfied are you that the Internal Audit plan is linked to the agreed risk profile for the company? (Please select one) ❑ Very satisfied ❑ Somewhat satisfied ❑ Needs improvement ❑ Unsure ❑ No Internal Audit function exists 37) Do you believe the Audit Committee should be primarily responsible for the oversight of enterprise risk management? (Please select one) ❑ Yes ❑ No ❑ Unsure

I n t e r n a t i o n a l A u d i t C o m m i tt e e S u r v e y 7

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37a) If no, in your view who should be responsible for the oversight of enterprise risk management? (Please select one) ❑ Board ❑ Risk Committee (separate to the Audit Committee) ❑ Other Board Committee ❑ CEO ❑ CFO ❑ Management Committee ❑ Other (please specify): ❑ Unsure Whistleblower communication process 38) What approaches does your company use by which staff and others may raise concerns in confidence about possible improprieties in matters of financial reporting, financial control or related matters? (Please select all that apply) ❑ Internally administered telephone hotline ❑ Internally administered email ❑ Third-party administered telephone hotline ❑ Third-party administered email ❑ Formal whistleblower process not in place ❑ Other (please specify): 39) Does the Audit Committee review the log of incoming calls/emails relating to whistle blowing and consider the adequacy and appropriateness of actions proposed / taken? (Please select one) ❑ Yes ❑ No ❑ Unsure 40) How confident are you that employees feel comfortable reporting behaviour they believe is questionable? (Please select one) ❑ Very conf ident ❑ Somewhat confident ❑ Not confident ❑ Unsure Sustainability reporting 41) Does the company publish a Sustainability Report (also known as a Triple Bottom Line Report)? ❑ Yes ❑ No ❑ Unsure

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8 I n t e r n a t i o n a l A u d i t C o m m i tt e e S u r v e y

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