Since early 2006 Deloitte Australia has hosted bi-monthly lunch conversations for Board Audit Committee members and chairs on topics key for their importance or imminence.
Below is the full list of topics of Board Audit Committee conversations held to date. For each conversation a summary of the discussion including the focus questions discussed is available for download.
Board Audit Committee conversations
8 March 2008 - Corporate responsibility and non-financial reporting
Many boards are in the early stages of engagement with oversight of management’s handling of CR, with most corporates yet to produce non-financial or sustainability reports even on a stand alone basis. This series of Board Audit Committee conversations held in capitals around Australia focussed on some key definitional, operational and quantification of value issues associated with CR.
13 November 2007 - Interactions between ASIC and Audit Committees
ASIC has recently overseen a period of significant regulatory change in Australia, particularly with the introduction of IFRS. The conversation focuses on the impact of each of these changes and the challenges faced by Audit Committees as businesses operate in the global arena.
11 September 2007 - Role of 'specialist Directors'
Deloitte has conducted over 100 interviews with Chairmen and Directors from the top 200 ASX organisation in regards to Board effectiveness. These interviews have raised considerable debate about the role of 'specialist Directors' and their ability to maintain independence.
July 2007 - ASX principle 7
Following a review of more than 100 submissions, the Corporate Governance Council finalised changes to principle 7 which are to come into effect at the beginning of the financial year, on or after January 2008. This conversation considers the potential benefits for you company.
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8 May 2007 - Understanding performance using non-financial metrics
Boards and executives are recognising the need for a better blend of financial and non-financial performance metrics, not only to evaluate performance, but to facilitate improved prediction of future performance through a mixture of lead and lag indicators.
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March 2007 - Private equity and corporate governance
Private equity has become increasingly active in the Australian financial markets, with a raft of successful and proposed transactions targeting a range of local industries. This growing role has also brought increased scrutiny on private equity practices, ethics and governance.
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14 November 2006 - Audit Committee performance evaluation
The role of effective Audit Committees in promoting good corporate governance has been highlighted by the proposed changes to the 2006 ASX Corporate Governance Council's review of the ASX principles and focuses on the expansion of accountability.
26 September 2006 - Tax governance: Understanding and managing tax risk
The ATO has increased its vigilance in pursuing evidence to ensure that big business focus on tax governance and tax risk management policies. This conversation considers the role of the Board Audit Committee in dealing with these tax issues.
11 July 2006 - Impact of current reporting issues
The Federal Government released a consultation paper discussing the complexity of the regulations in the business sector and expressed the fear that such regulations may detrimentally effect business growth and investment. This conversation further discusses the issue.
14 March 2006 - Treasury risk management and AASB139
Derivatives and hedging have always been areas of high risk. The introduction of AASB139 provides Board Audit Committees an opportunity to increase transparency and integrity to the process of accounting for derivatives via formal documentation.
February 2006 - Managing a profit downgrade
No one likes giving or receiving bad news. if not well managed a profit downgrade can erode investor confidence and wipe out millions of dollars. This conversation provides guidance on how to manage your initial profit and the role of the committee in downgrade communications.
For details of forthcoming conversation topics please email us via the link below.
