Audit

Fraud, Corruption and the Audit Committee: Protecting Reputation and Value
Deloitte - Aug 31, 2011
Global media and the Internet enable news to travel faster and reach more people than ever before. The international nature of business and growing collaboration among regulators worldwide can expose an entity to a greater number of regulatory regimes. These factors may increase both the likelihood and the potential impact of alleged wrongdoing on a company’s reputation and shareholder value. Experience suggests that companies that manage their risks proactively may be less vulnerable to having their reputations harmed by allegations of wrongdoing, falling behind in the news cycle of reactions, and losing the support of regulators, customers, suppliers, investors, the general public, and even politicians. Audit committee members may want to consider how their company manages its risks of fraud and corruption and whether today’s risk environment merits a more proactive approach. In this edition of the Audit Committee Brief, we discuss 10 areas the audit committee can evaluate that may help mitigate reputational risks of fraud and corruption.

Key Factors Shaping Financial Reporting: The Decade Ahead
Deloitte - Jul 31, 2011
Several financial reporting challenges and trends have emerged during the past few years, including three key qualitative characteristics of useful financial reporting: relevance, understandability, and timeliness. These characteristics have long been recognized as essential qualities in supporting financial, investment, and other economic decision making. As it is the audit committee’s responsibility to oversee the integrity of the company’s financial statements and financial reporting process, it is important that committee members understand these characteristics and work with management to strengthen their company’s financial statements

Accounting Roundup: Year in Review - 2010
Deloitte - Jan 01, 2011
This issue covers accounting standard-setting and regulatory activities that affect year-end financial reporting, as well as recent developments at the end of 2010.

Issues for Audit Committees to Consider at Year-End
Deloitte - Jan 01, 2011
In today’s complex business environment, audit committees are busier than ever and are challenged to focus on what matters most to their organizations. Audit committees of listed companies are expected to work closely with management, the internal auditors, and the independent auditor to oversee risk, financial reporting, compliance, and corporate resources.

IFRS - What Should Boards and Audit Committees be Considering Now?
Deloitte - Jan 31, 2010
Audit committee members play a critical role in the effective functioning of the capital markets. Their oversight and experience assists company management teams to navigate rough waters, capitalize on opportunities, operate efficiently, and, of course, provide timely, reliable financial information to investors. In an effort to support these important audit committee activities, and to help directors stay current, this publication provides guidance on an important emerging topic for audit committees: IFRS — International Financial Reporting Standards. This publication has two sections: (1) an overview of IFRS with considerations for the board and audit committee; and (2) an “issues guide” in the appendix, a tool that outlines a number of the technical accounting differences between U.S. Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) and IFRS and provides some key questions to use in meetings with management.

The Obama Administration FY 2010 Tax Proposals
McGladrey - Aug 26, 2009
The Treasury Proposal contains three recommendations under a heading called “Tax Cuts for Business.” It appears that the administration intends to help alleviate the impact of severe business operating losses by expanding the number of years to which such losses can be carried back. Further, it seems that encouraging technological development is also high on the President’s list, and the Treasury Proposal reflects that goal as it would make the research and experimentation credit permanent. However, the far greater number of business proposals will significantly raise taxes for businesses generally and some proposals target special tax breaks in the current law for certain industries. Oil and gas producers, organizers and managers of hedge funds and real estate developers would all experience significant changes in the ways they are taxed if these proposals become law. In addition, there are a number of proposals designed to expand information reporting, improve compliance by business, and revise some ways that income from financial products is reported. All in all, the Treasury Proposal seems designed to impose greater burdens on businesses in order to pay for deficit reduction and health care reform.

Addressing Underwater Options: Measured Responses to a Contentious Problem
Radford - an Aon Hewitt Company - Nov 06, 2008
WE GENERALLY CREDIT THE HIGH-TECHNOLOGY BOOM OF THE 1990S FOR THE GROWTH OF BROAD-BASED STOCK OPTION programs, and can correspondingly blame the 2000/2001 downturn for introducing us to large-scale underwater options. The risk for these awards to fall underwater has existed since stock options were initially introduced as a compensation vehicle. For the first time however, the high-technology sector was faced with company-wide morale, retention and motivation crises that struck at the core of the employee value proposition – the ownership culture.

Not Just a Housing Problem -- Legal Audits to the Rescue
Hinckley Allen - Mar 31, 2008
Although much attention has been devoted to the adverse effects of the subprime mortgage crisis on the housing market and the financial institutions owning substantial portfolios of collateralized mortgage obligations consisting of subprime loans, there is now a growing focus on the related adverse effects in the bond and securities markets.

Recession-Related Risks a Top Concern for Audit Committees in 2008
KPMG - Feb 20, 2008
While audit committees will continue to focus on refining their oversight of financial reporting, internal controls, and risk management in 2008, they also will be paying close attention to “recession-related risks”—and there may be many.

Ten to-Do's for the Audit Committee in 2008
KPMG - Jan 01, 2008
When considering their 2008 agendas, audit committees should…

Considerations for the Audit Committee
KPMG - Jan 01, 2008
While International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) may not be around the corner, there are strong indications that U.S. public companies may one day be required to file IFRS financial statements. The SEC’s August 2007 concept release on the potential use of IFRS by domestic public companies, the elimination of the U.S. GAAP reconciliation for foreign private issuers using IFRS, and the SEC Roundtable series in December 2007 all point to the momentum toward IFRS.

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