An Introduction to the Audit Committee
An audit committee is a subcommittee of the board of directors that oversees the financial reporting process of a company including its audit procedures. In general, the audit committee’s responsibilities are to monitor the financial reporting process, oversee the internal control systems and to oversee the internal audit and independent public accounting function (Doupnik & Perera, 2012). Another requirement for publicly traded companies in the United States is that the committee must be made up of independent directors, meaning that no committee member can work for the company, with one committee member being a financial expert in accounting and auditing.
A History of the Audit Committee in
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Brazilian investments in roads, rails, airports and power plants will help in modernizing Brazil while giving the economy boost and enticing more business and capital to the country.
The BM&F Bovespa
Brazil’s main stock exchange is the BM&F Bovespa. It is located in Sao Paulo and was founded on August 23, 1890. The mission of the BM&F Bovespa is stated as follows: “Public confidence in the soundness of the capital markets and in the professional who work in those markets is an essential component for continued vitality and growth.” (BM&F Bovespa, 2014) In the year 2000, in order to further this mission BM&F Bovespa created stock listing levels with increasingly strict corporate governance and disclosure requirements. The listing levels are as follows: regular Bovespa, Level 1, Level 2 and Nova Mercado.
The Brazilian Audit Committee
Brazilian law requires public companies to have a board of directors, with at least three members. Firms that list on regular Bovespa, Level 2 or Novo Mercado must have at least 5 member boards. Brazil has no legal requirements for board independence, but only one-third of board members may be company officers. Traditionally in Brazil though, there has been either no or few independent directors that make up a company’s board. Brazilian law also gives minority shareholders the legal right to elect one representative
In the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, the audit committee is responsible for adequate supervision and reporting and for responding to:
The legal aspects of Brazil are as large and diverse as their population. Brazil is currently a Federal Republic. Similar to the United States, it has three legislative branches, the executive, legislative and judicial (“South America: Brazil”, n.d.). Brazil also has a constitution that sets the rules for its government and citizens, and is very similar to the United States Constitution.
Disney’s audit committee charter pertains to the committee's authority, purpose, structure, and its responsibilities to the company itself. The audit committee assists the board of directors in overseeing the reliability of the financial statements; compliance with company regulations and the law; external auditors’ qualifications and their ability to be independent; as well as their performance within the company, including that of the internal
Since its inception in the 16th century, Brazil has relied mainly on its vast mining, agriculture, and manufacturing sectors of industry. According to Marina Borrell Falco of the Engineering and Mining Journal, “Brazil was Latin America's leading producer of iron ore, manganese, aluminum, cement, ferroalloys (ranking third in the
Audit Committee: The Audit Committees’ role in checks and balances is to further assist the Board in providing oversight of the integrity of the financial statements, the effectiveness of the internal controls that relate to financial reporting, and the organizations compliance with legal and regulatory requirements.
The negative impact that this scandal has brought to the nation is inmeasurable and can be described in a simple chain. Besides the results of thousands Brazilians being unemploymed, government gross debt level and the a dent in the industrial sector, the image that the government is giving to the wolrd is that the government is controlled by the wealthy and it does not have the structure to make proper and ethical accountability achievable. The next part of the chain would be a question that international investors and foreign observers would ask themselves. “ Would I risk my money in this country?”, “ Is now a good time to invest?”. “ Where is the integrity”?. With an uncertain answer, there is a huge probability that it will affect drastically the trades, investmens, and business plans.
Brazil is the largest economy in Latin America and the seventh largest economy in the world with a GDP of US$2.246 trillion as of 2014. It has only been within the last few years that Brazil has begun to reap the benefits of nearly two decades of reform. A strong performance through the Global Financial Crisis (GFC) highlighted the country’s newfound stability as much of the reason for this strong performance can be traced to a series of specific policy decisions that have attacked glaring issues hindering economic growth. Brazil’s implementation of such strategies as the Growth Acceleration Plan, Bolsa Familia and My House, My Life have all encouraged and facilitated the foreign and domestic investment that has propelled Brazil’s
The government of Brazil has encouraged increased private sector to participation in areas such as the construction and management of roads, ports and airports, and large international events.
In addition, UK Corporate Governance Code (C.3.1) requires that, the board should establish an audit committee of at least three independent non-executive directors. The audit committee in Retail PLC only has two members. Furthermore, one of them is the former chair of the audit committee, the independence of him/her should be considered since he or she might work for the company for long period of time. In the other hand, the company has met the requirement of having at least one member of the committee has recent and relevant financial experience. The audit committee chair Terry Muir is a qualified accountant and recently retired as an FD of another listed company. He is
The Audit Committee ensures the following corporate practices to evaluate and manage the company’s risks efficiently: meetings, review of periodic reports, quarterly review of CEO and CFO Certification Process, review of Earnings Releases and Information Provided to Analysts and Rating Agencies, approval of audit and non-audit services, hiring guidelines for the independent auditor employees, conflict of interest review, etc. (GE, 2008, p. 8). The nature of the risks determines the risk mitigating strategy and practice, for instance – “delegation of authorities, standardized processes, and strategic planning reviews operating reviews, insurance, and hedging (GE, 2017, p.
There are good opportunities for U.S. companies to invest in Brazil because of its large and continuously emerging economy, geographical location, and its new infrastructure concession program.
Another reason to be excited about the Brazilian economy is that - after several quarters of disappointing growth levels - there is an air of optimism about future growth levels. If the economy picks up soon, many global investors will see it as a catalyst to move in their operations and thus boost foreign direct investment (FDI). But doing business in Brazil is notoriously complicated, and there are several things organizations should consider before making the leap.
Brazil is a politically stable country with booming economy which makes it perfect for foreign investment or joint venture. Brazilian population comprises of 67% middle class population with $12,100 per capita income of 202 million people with a consumption rate of 1.2 kg ppa makes it a huge potential market.
2 The Board will have a maximum of ● directors. [For so long as the Investors hold ●% of the issued share capital of the Company on an as converted basis] the Investors will have the right to appoint [one] director (the "Investor Director"). The composition of the Board on completion will be ●. There will be a minimum of ● board meetings each year.
Brazil can be seen as country that is open and inviting foreign investments. Brazil remains the top destination for FDI in the Latin American region and according the A.T. Kearney Foreign Direct Investment Confidence Index for 2015, Brazil is ranked #6 as a global FDI destination. FDI inflows into Brazil stood at USD 60.5 billion as on Feb 2015, (Central bank of Brazil). The US Department of State’s report on Brazil states that Brazil is a foreign investment friendly country however complex tax, local content and regulatory requirements must be looked out for. The Brazilian economy’s GDP growth has been erratic, but is showing signs of stability and is expected to hit 2.1 % during the year