Every year, the board of directors of Northern Power, a distributor of electricity, commissions an effectiveness evaluation of its audit committee. An independent consultant with expertise in governance reviews the means by which the audit committee fulfills its responsibilities, as set out in its charter. Specifically, it evaluates how the members of the audit committee:
Oversee the quality and reliability of financial reporting and disclosures
Understand the key risks facing the organization and the processes management uses to identify, assess, and manage risks, considering internal audit findings, litigation, compensation schemes, regulation, and compliance
Evaluate organizational behavior, culture, and adherence to standards of conduct
Challenge management and the external auditor in determining materiality for financial reporting purposes
Assess reasonableness and appropriateness of critical accounting policies of the company
Confirm or reject the basis for management estimates and proposed accounting policy changes before approving
Evaluate, retain, or change external auditors
Review audit plans
Review management's assessment of internal control over external financial reporting The results of the evaluation are used to determine whether the roles and responsibilities of the committee have been met and could result in committee member changes or impact remuneration. In addition to the annual review, every three years the company conducts a benchmark review against leading practices and refines its charter, as appropriate.
I’ve done quite a bit of excerpting from COSO, and it says this:
2. Control Environment Principles relating to the Control Environment component
Principle 1. …
Principle 2. The board of directors demonstrates independence from management and exercises oversight for the development and performance of internal control.
Points of Focus
The following points of focus highlight important characteristics relating to this principle.
Establishes Oversight Responsibilities—The board of directors identifies and accepts its oversight responsibilities in relation to established requirements and expectations.
An example they use is:
Example: Reviewing and Documenting Key Activities of the Audit Committee
Every year, the board of directors of Northern Power, a distributor of electricity, commissions an effectiveness evaluation of its audit committee.
Required:
Look at the example that COSO uses for Northern Power, and respond to these questions.
1. Is the audit committee required to second-guess management, when management estimates something like the useful life of buildings for computing depreciation? Why?
2. Should the full board of directors second-guess the audit committee’s selection of which CPA firm should audit Northern Power? Why?
1) The audit committee is required to second guess management. The main reason why the internal audit is required is to oversight financial reporting of the company. I would explain you with an example. Sometimes if a company wants to get listed they will try to increase the profitability of the company. The management peoples perk and salary also depends on the financial report. So sometimes management people would try to manipulate the financial report in their favor. In such cases, the internal audit committee is required to second guess management.
In your case of depreciation, depreciation is calculated on two bases. One is a straight line and other is an accelerated method. So management can manipulate with methods so that profit of the company changes. So, it is the responsibility of the audit committee that company always follows the same accounting standard for calculating the depreciation of buildings.
2) Yes, the board of director should second-guess the internal audit work done by the audit committee. Because sometimes settlement happens between management and audit committee which goes against the interest of the company and would harm the reputation of the company if on later dates any faults are found out.
Every year, the board of directors of Northern Power, a distributor of electricity, commissions an effectiveness...
6. The control environment includes all of the following COSO Principles of Internal Control, EXCEPT A : the organization demonstrates a commitment to integrity and ethical values. B : the organization identifies risks to the achievement of its objectives across the entity and analyzes risk as a basis for determining how the risks should be managed. C : the organization holds individuals accountable for their internal control responsibilities in the pursuit of objectives. D : the board of directors demonstrates...
2. 15 pts. We have discussed in length the COSO model for an effective system of Internal Control including its 5 components: (CE) Control Environment; (RA) Risk Assessment; (CA) Control Activities; (I&C) Information & Communication; & (M) Monitoring. To test your understanding of these, in the block immediately preceding each individual statement below, identify the COSO component each statement best applies to. Hint: There are 5-CE's; 4-RA's; 3-CA's; 3-IC's; & 2-M's. The organization specifies objectives with sufficient clarity to enable...
According to The Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, the audit committee of the board of directors is directly responsible for a performing tests of the company's internal control structure. b overseeing day-to-day operations of the internal audit department. c certifying the accuracy of the company's financial reporting process. d hiring and firing the external auditors. A fraud technique that uses unauthorized codes in an authorized and properly functioning program is called the ________ technique. a Trojan horse b man-in-the-middle c salami...
3, Check my Select the necessary words from the list of possibilities to complete the following statements, Statements Answer Significant financial statement accounts are materially affected, either directly through entries in the general ledger, 1. or indirectly through the creation of rights or obligations that may or may not be recorded in the general ledger by The control framework ordinarily used in an intermal control audit is Internal ControlIntegrated Framework, created 2. by the of the Treadway Commission. yet important...
Colorado Springs Company (CSC) is a wholesaler with fiscal year ended December 31 of previous year. Since it is publicly-traded, it undergoes external audit. The most recent audit was completed in February of this year. As part of the audit of the financial statements, the auditors tested the effectiveness of management’s assessment of internal control over financial reporting. The auditor found out that existing internal controls were inadequate. Specifically, CSC’s accounting system for sales, cash receipts, accounts receivables, and accounts...
Review the Audit report (found in the 10-K) for the following
two companies. Highlight or summarize
differences between the reports (other than the name of Company,
Audit Firm, Financial statement
period covered).
Note:
1. Each Company may have two audit reports (one opinion on
financial statements and one for
audit of internal controls) or the two opinions may be combined
into one report.
2. You are not required to review the entire 10-K. Find the
audit report in the 10-K...
Question 6 of 1010.0 Points Which costs have not increased for public companies related to implementation of Sarbanes-Oxley? A. Accounting staff salaries B. CEO salaries C. Audit costs Question 7 of 10 Which of the following is not one of the four specific responsibilities that PCAOB Auditing Standard No. 2 levies on company management? A. Accept responsibility for the effectiveness of the company’s internal control over financial reporting. B. Evaluate the effectiveness of the company’s internal control over financial reporting...
3) Role of internal audit function
30 Chapter 1: Auditing and Internal Contrel Management ii External auditor i Internal audit To whom should the Director of Internal Audits report. Explain your answer. Comment on the audit committee member's per- spective as to the committee's current composition. 3. Role of Internal Audit Function Nano Circuits Inc. is a publicly traded company that pro- duces electronic control circuits, which are used in many products. In an effort to comply with SOx, Nano...
1. Which of the following matters would an auditor most likely consider to be a significant deficiency to be communicated to the audit committee? A. Management's failure to renegotiate unfavorable long-term purchase commitments.B. Recurring operating losses that may indicate going concern problems.C. Evidence of a lack of objectivity by those responsible for accounting decisions.D. Management's current plans to reduce its ownership equity in the entity. 2. After obtaining an understanding of internal control and arriving at a preliminary assessed level...
1. Consider the following statements: I. Per COSO, Control Activities are the policies and procedures that help insure that management’s directives are carried out. II. A Reliance Strategy is used when control risk is considered High. a. I is true; II is true b. I is true; II is false c. I is false; II is true d. I is false; II is false 2. Management's attitude toward aggressive financial reporting and its...