The Role of the audit committee Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

The Role of the audit committee - Essay Example The paper will discuss the roles, the responsibilities and the effectiveness of the audit committee in details. The independence of the audit committee and how its independence is ensured will be explored. The current issues that are being faced by the audit committee in the context of various accounting misrepresentations will also be analysed. Role of Audit Committee The Role of Audit Committee in the US and the UK and Oversight of Internal and External Auditors and Overseeing Financial Reporting The audit committee has the responsibility of judging the validity of financial statements. The internal financial controls of the company and the company’s risk management system are reviewed by the audit committee (Financial Reporting Council, 2010). The audit committee is responsible for hiring the external auditors. They have the right to fire the external auditors if their performance is not satisfactory. ... The audit committee has the authority to hire as well as terminate the independent auditors. They approve the fees of engaged auditors. They conduct discussion with the independent auditors regarding the approach that will be taken in conducting the audit. They conduct a review of the audit that is done by the independent auditor to understand the areas of concern and make suggestions. They conduct an annual review of the audit report of the independent auditor. The audit committee reviews the company’s accounting controls internally along with the risk management policies of the company. They monitor the financial reporting and financial disclosures in the company. The financial statements that are audited are discussed with the management and the auditors. The audit committee reports regularly to the board of directors regarding their inference from audit reports (Singh, 2005). The audit committee is responsible for ensuring independence of both internal and external auditor s. The audit committee has a liaison with internal and external auditors. The external auditors underwrite the validity of accounting information. The audit committee has the responsibility of ensuring the independence of the internal auditors. They provide resources to the internal auditors to ensure quality of the information. The internal auditors report to the audit committee. The compliance with standards and code of ethics of the internal auditors make things easier for the audit committee (The Institute of Internal Auditors, 2004). Importance and Effectiveness of Audit Committees The rising scandals and fraudulence activities in the corporate world have increased the

Personal Environmental History Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 3

Personal Environmental History - Essay Example ‘The great outdoors’ was definitely not a part of my world. It was only when I went to High School that I began to be aware that our way of life and our economy was all part of larger world picture, which has its effect on the earth. My friendship with an Indian student was the main cause of my ‘wake-up’ call. His stories of life back home, including accounts of his trips to forest reserves and his photographs of lush paddy fields in the villages, made me realize that the same earth, with many different faces, is shared by all mankind. He told me how lucky I was to have unlimited power and water, when many parts of his country were plagued by chronic power shortage and lack of water. This made me do some reading and I realized that Qatar has the highest per-capita carbon-dioxide emissions in the world, and our economic prosperity has a cost in terms of environment. My move to the USA has further strengthened my environmental consciousness. The beauty of the Rocky Mountains of Colorado has made me fall in love with the earth! I am now more conscious of the beauty of our sand dunes back home. I must confess that Americans are closer to nature than my countrymen. Being an avid soccer fan, my hobbies have not taken me close to the earth. Here, I find that fishing and trekking are very much a part of weekend life. The care taken of the National Parks makes me envy the close relationship many people have with the earth. I continue to be proud of Qatar’s place in the world economy. However, I am now conscious that it is possible to maintain this place without harming the earth. Oil is an essential resource to sustain human activity. But this can be produced in ecologically friendly ways. I am aware that energy has a price, and to exceed these limits will do irreparable harm to the earth. I intend to be involved in any efforts of my country to conserve the environment, and am