Accounting & Audit

Making the Most of Executive Sessions

June 5,2008 by Edward F. Smith
Candor and unvarnished viewpoints are tremendously important to the audit committee in its oversight role, which is why executive sessions are now standard fare for audit committees. What’s not standard is the value and insight that these sessions produce: Many audit committees continue to wrestle with various factors—like timing and frequency, what’s discussed, who participates, and follow-through with management—that can help, or hamper, the committee’s efforts to get the most out of executive sessions. Full Story

Adapting to New Economic Realities

April 1,2008 by Henry R. Keizer
With the prospect of continued economic slowdown in 2008, audit committees are paying particular attention to the recessionrelated risks that are facing their companies. At the same time, they are taking a hard look at their company’s risk-management processes—understanding the quality of the company’s risk intelligence—and many are focusing on the tone at the top and culture of the organization as critical to effective risk management. Full Story

Coda - April / May 2008

April 1,2008 by Jeff Cunningham
“The principal reason for strategic failure [is] the inability to interpret weak signals. Great growth opportunities and dangerous threats are rarely obvious at the beginning…[Managers must] determine which developments on the periphery of their corporate vision they can safely ignore, and which ones pack the disruptive potential.” – Paul Schoemaker, Wharton professor, author of Profiting from Uncertainty and Peripheral Vision. Full Story

SWFs to the Rescue

April 1,2008 by Aaron Bernstein
Over the past six to nine months, it has seemed as if many major American and European financial institutions have been getting government bailouts. Only the governments haven’t been in Washington or Paris. Full Story

Five Trends Reshaping the Internal Audit Function

December 4,2007 by Dennis Bartolucci and Richard Chambers
Given the clear need for internal audit to sharpen its focus on risk, and thereby provide more value, internal auditors find themselves at a strategic crossroads: They can either pursue the status quo, a path that could lead to their obsolescence, or they can transform themselves from an internal-audit model focused on controls assurance to a risk-centric model based on the effectiveness of risk management processes. The latter path is far more likely to address the evolving needs of modern organizations and meet the rising expectations of directors and senior management. Full Story

'Financial Experts' Beware!

December 1,2007 by Joseph Hinsey
Sitting on the audit committee can be a tough job. Wearing the “financial expert” hat is even more of a challenge, and just one of the many regulatory interventions that have made life difficult at times for board members. Supporters predicted that as time went on, provisions of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 (Sarbox*) would become old hat and boards could get back to the business at hand. Full Story

Capital Markets: Navigating the Exchanges

December 1,2007 by Arzu Cevik
There have been concerns voiced about the U.S. capital markets losing market share. Earlier this year, the market capitalization of European equity markets surpassed those of the United States for the first time, prompting many to speculate that New York has lost its dominance as the financial capital of the world. Full Story

Finding New Value in Internal Audit

December 1,2007 by Michael J. Nolan and Edward F. Smith
Many audit committees are ratcheting up their expectations for the internal audit function. In fact, a recent ACI/NACD survey found that only 46 percent of audit committee members were very satisfied with the effectiveness of their company’s internal audit function. Full Story

Nasdaq's Global Ambitions

December 1,2007
Robert Greifeld, chairman and CEO of the Nasdaq Stock Market Inc., has been busy. He has steered the nation’s largest electronic stock exchange through a series of ambitious growth initiatives and acquisitions, since being named to the top spot in May of 2003. He led Nasdaq’s 2004 launch of Market Center, a system capable of trading Nasdaq, NYSE, and AMEX-listed securities and exchange traded funds on a single electronic platform. But Greifeld’s boldest plans involve giving the exchange a global presence. After the prestigious London Stock Exchange rebuffed his advances, even though Nasdaq owned a sizable minority stake, Greifeld turned his attention to Stockholm-based OMX, which it agreed to buy for about $4.9 billion in a deal struck jointly with Borse Dubai. “We fought the good fight,” he said, during a third-quarter conference call. Regardless, Greifeld told Directorship, Nasdaq is marching forward with its plans to carve out an international footprint. Full Story

Toward Global Bookkeeping

December 1,2007 by Aaron Bernstein
A Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) plan, passed unanimously last month, to allow foreign companies listed in the United States to stop reconciling their financial statements to U.S. accounting standards is getting panned by investors. Full Story

Audit Committee Roundup: Tackle Tax Risks With Authority

October 1,2007 by Harry L. Gutman and Edward F. Smith
Audit committees have developed a greater sensitivity to the financial reporting and reputation risks that taxes can pose for their companies today. The number of tax-related material weaknesses reported under Sarbanes-Oxley Section 404, as well as the recent implementation of the Financial Accounting Standards Board's FIN 48, has prompted this increased attention. Full Story

No Break on FIN 48

April 1,2007 by Directorship Editors
he Financial Accounting Standards Board shocked the green-eyeshade crowd in mid-January by refusing to postpone the effective date of its Interpretation No. 48, “Accounting for Uncertainty in Income Taxes.” Full Story

Optimizing the Disclosure Committee

February 1,2007 by Directorship Editors
When the Securities and Exchange Commission, in 2002, adopted its rules requiring public companies to maintain and periodically update their disclosure controls and procedures, it recommended (but did not require) that companies establish a disclosure committee, comprised of company officers and senior managers, to be responsible for the company’s public disclosures. Full Story

Audit Committees Are Far From Happy

December 1,2006 by Directorship Editors
Many feel they're stuck with too much responsibility for risk management. Full Story

Refocusing the Audit Committee's Agenda

November 1,2006 by Kenneth Daly
Don't be surprised if your audit committee has some "control issues" these days. Full Story

Wanted: More Director Education

November 1,2006 by
Chalk it up to the increasing complexity and scrutiny of financial reporting and accounting issues: Audit committee members today undoubtedly spend more time "doing their homework." But chances are they're not following a formal curriculum. Full Story

Governance and Your Debt Rating

November 1,2006 by
Board effectiveness and creditworthiness can often overlap. Full Story

Risk Management: One Size Doesn't Fit All

November 1,2006 by Directorship Editors
Directors say that processes for safeguarding company assets and reputation must be customized. Full Story

Getting to Know the CFO

September 1,2006 by Colleen Cunningham
Boards must now work closely with the finance chief Full Story

Seven Steps to Navigating Compliance with New Internal Audit Standards

July 13,2006
The Institute of Internal Auditors (IIA) upgraded its compliance standards by calling on companies to conduct regular quality assurance reviews of their internal audit practices. Full Story