Audit Committees - Corporate Governance

Home >
Law >
Corporate Governance >
Audit Committees

Description
Contents
Author

Details
Audit Committees: A Guide for Directors, Management, and Consultants presents the history, responsibilities, and operation of audit committees. The Guide focuses primarily on publicly held companies, but also includes a short chapter on audit committees for not-for-profit and public sector entities.

The Guide is written in a non-technical, active-voice, easy-to-read format. The book is useful for directors serving on audit committees, other members of the board of directors, CEOs, CFOs, legal in-house counsels, internal and external auditors, outside legal counsels, and other consultants to audit committees.

It fills a "gap" in the existing literature in that it blends:
1. Observations based on real-world experiences from serving on audit committees
2. Expert knowledge of the standards of external and internal auditors
3. Knowledge of the latest requirements from the New York Stock Exchange, National Association of Securities Dealers/Nasdaq, American Stock Exchange, and the SEC, including the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002.
Audit Committees covers subjects rarely discussed, such as the process for terminating an external auditor. This Sixth Edition also features a free, companion CD-ROM containing workpapers, including checklists and document templates that can be put to immediate use.
- 1: The Need For An Audit Committee
- 2: Early History Of The Audit Committee Concept: 1939 To 1987
- 3: The 1987 Treadway Commission Report: A Defining Event
- 4: Additional Developments From Treadway To The Present
- 5: The 1999 Blue Ribbon Committee On Improving The Effectiveness Of Corporate Audit Committees: Another Major Milestone
- 6: The Sarbanes-Oxley Act Of 2002
- 7: Creating An Audit Committee
- 8: Appointing And Educating The Audit Committee
- 9: Understanding Financial Statements
- 10: The Responsibilities Of An Audit Committee
- 11: The Audit Committee's Overight Of Internal Control
- 12: The Potential Impact Of The Caremark Decision On Audit Committees
- 13: The Internal Audit Function
- 14: The External Audit Function
- 15: Audit Committee Meetings
- 16: Termination Of The External Auditor
- 17: Evaluating The Audit Committee
- 18: Audit Committees For Not-For-Profit And Public Sector Entities
- 19: Legal Liability Of Audit Committee Members
- Appendix (Partial List):
  - Sample Resolution Creating Audit Committee
  - Officer Certification Of Annual Report On Form 10-K
  - Internal Auditor Assessment By Audit Committee
  - Illustrative Letter From The External Auditor To The Audit Committee Chair Re: Required Independence Discussions
  - Sample Audit Committee Agendas For Committee Year
  - Sample Request For Proposal--Audit Services, Audit Committee Self-Assessment Evaluation
- Where To Find More Information
- Glossary
- List Of Acronyms
Contributing Author Kay W. Tatum, Ph.D., CPA is chair of the department of accounting at the University of Miami in Coral Gables, FL. Professor Tatum earned her Ph.D. in accounting at Texas Tech University.

She is an active member of the AICPA and the American Accounting Association. She currently serves as secretary of the Auditing Section of the American Accounting Association. Professor Tatum was a member of the PCAOB's Standing Advisory Group from 2004 to 2005.