Third Audit Committee Leadership Summit
On September 30 and October 1, 2008, 17 members of the European and North American Audit Committee Leadership Networks, who are audit committee chairs drawn from leading global public companies typically with over $10 billion in revenue, met for the third time in London to discuss the financial crisis and the impact on and response of audit committees. A summary of the key themes can be found here.
 Finding a balanced approach to global regulation (PDF) - October 2008
The financial crisis has propelled the debate on the need to overhaul regulatory regimes in the United States and Europe up the political agenda. However, summit participants were sceptical of the possibility that substantive reforms would be made in the short term despite agreeing that the financial crisis clearly highlights the need for more effective co-operation and collaboration among regulators to avoid duplication of efforts, reduce costs, and improve compliance with regulations.
IFRS in Europe and the US: lessons learned and challenges ahead (PDF) - October 2008
With more than 100 countries around the world currently requiring or permitting over 12,000 companies to report under IFRS, many agree the SEC’s proposed Roadmap signals the convergence of global accounting standards, with IFRS emerging as the global standard. Audit chairs questioned whether the financial crisis will impact the timeline. U.S. audit chairs attending the summit said their companies are unlikely to become early adopters of IFRS due to their focus on the consequences of the financial crisis and the numerous changes that are expected to IFRS as a result of the FASB and IASB convergence projects. European audit chairs offered practical tips for the conversion to IFRS.
Enterprise risk: recurring challenges and new considerations for the audit committee (PDF) - October 2008
The financial crisis continues to grip global capital markets. Financial media, shareholders and regulators have zeroed in on failures in enterprise-wide risk management as one of the key drivers of the crisis. Board directors of financial institutions have been pressed to pinpoint where the breakdown in risk management occurred. Naturally, the concern has extended to other industries, and boards and audit committees in all sectors are reconsidering their companies’ approaches to managing enterprise risk.
Guests who participated in separate discussions at the summit included:
Mr. Philippe Danjou, member, International Accounting Standards Board (IASB)
Sir Callum McCarthy, immediate past chairman of the UK’s Financial Services Authority (FSA)
Mr. Charlie McCreevy, European Commissioner for Internal Market and Services
Mr. Ethiopis Tafara, Director of the Office of International Affairs at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
Mr. Jim Turley, Chairman and CEO, Ernst & Young
Network members participating in the meeting included:
Mr. Steve Almassy, Americas Assurance Leader, Ernst & Young
Dr. Werner Brandt, Audit Committee Member, Lufthansa
Mr. Phil Hodkinson, Audit Committee Chair, BT
Mrs. Judy Richards Hope, Audit Committee Chair, Union Pacific
Mr. Steve Howe, Americas Managing Partner, Ernst & Young
Mr. Laban Jackson, Audit Committee Chair, JP Morgan Chase
Dr. DeAnne Julius, Audit Committee Chair, Roche Holding
Ms. Marie Knowles, Audit Committee Chair, McKesson
Mr. Wim Kok, Audit Committee Chair, ING
Mr. Daniel Lebègue, Audit Committee Chair, SCOR
Mr. Tom McGrath, Managing Partner, EMEIA Financial Services, Ernst & Young
Mr. Christian Mouillon, Deputy Area Managing Partner EMEIA, Ernst & Young
Mr. Oscar Munoz, Audit Committee Chair, Continental Airlines
Mr. Chuck Noski, Audit Committee Chair, Microsoft & Morgan Stanley
Ms. Pam Patsley, Audit Committee Chair, Texas Instruments
Mr. Pierre Rodocanachi, Audit Committee Member, Vivendi
Ms. Guylaine Saucier, Audit Committee Chair, Areva
Mr. Kees Storm, Audit Committee Chair, Unilever
Dr. Bernd Voss, Audit Committee Chair, ABB
Mr. Steve West, Audit Committee Chair, Cisco Systems
Mr. Chris Williams, Audit Committee Chair, Wal-Mart
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