Tapestry Networks - Pacific Southwest Audit Committee Network

Pacific Southwest Audit Committee Network

The Pacific Southwest Audit Committee Network is a regional extension of the Audit Committee Leadership Network in North America . The Pacific Southwest ACN is a group of audit committee chairs from leading companies based in California, Colorado, Arizona, New Mexico, and Nevada. Members are committed to improving the performance of audit committees and enhancing trust in financial markets.

Convened by Ernst & Young's area leadership and produced by Tapestry Networks, the Pacific Southwest ACN meets quarterly, rotating among major cities in the region. Its private dialogues help develop practical insights and solutions to enhance the functioning of financial markets and strengthen relationships among the firm, leading companies and their directors.

Thought leadership created in Pacific Southwest ACN dialogues is captured and published by Tapestry to a wider audience in VantagePoint. Recent issues of VantagePoint from the Pacific Southwest ACN include:

The audit committtee's relationship with the CFO and finance organization (PDF) - June 11, 2010
The Pacific Southwest Audit Committee Network held its 16th meeting on May 13, 2010 in Marina del Rey to discuss the audit committee’s relationship with the CFO and finance organization, and the best ways to enhance those working relationships. Members discussed the key characteristics that make the best CFOs in today’s business environment, how the audit committee’s interactions with the CFO and finance organization can enhance the effectiveness of the finance organization, and the audit committee’s increasing role in CFO and finance team succession planning and evaluation. In addition, prior to the meeting, Ken Marshall, Ernst & Young partner and Americas Financial Accounting Advisory Services markets leader, provided members with an update on the potential changes to US GAAP as a result of the joint convergence projects between the FASB and IASB.

Enhancing audit committee effectiveness in uncertain times (PDF) - February 12, 2010
The Pacific Southwest Audit Committee Network held its 15th meeting on January 20, 2010 in Marina del Rey to discuss ways to enhance audit committee effectiveness in uncertain economic times. Network members said their 2010 audit committee agendas remain focused on the aftereffects of the financial crisis, with an emphasis on finance and liquidity and impending government regulation. To enhance their committees’ effectiveness, members said they are ensuring the right people are on the audit committee and relying on a variety of education programs to stay abreast of industry-specific issues and general governance trends. Members also said the audit committee chair can enhance the committee’s effectiveness by fostering an environment of trust between the board, management, and the external auditor.

A deeper dive into risk management practices (PDF) - November 5, 2009
The network held it's 14th meeting on October 14, 2009, in Santa Monica, CA. Network members used the meeting for a deeper dive into current risk management practices.

Executive compensation: a role for the board and the audit committee (PDF) - June 24, 2009
The network held its 13th meeting on June 24, 2009, in Santa Monica. Network members discussed the role of the board in overseeing executive compensation and explored opportunities for greater collaboration between the audit and compensation committees.

Shifting audit committee priorities in a turbulent business environment (PDF) - May 4, 2009
The Pacific Southwest Audit Committee Network (PSWACN) held its 12th meeting on April 15, 2009, in Marina del Rey, CA. Network members discussed ways audit committees and boards are adapting their priorities and oversight responsibilities in an effort to keep pace with rapid changes in the capital markets and the economy.

Enterprise risk and the financial crisis (PDF) - November 11, 2008
The network held its 11th meeting on October 23, 2008. This document reflects the key points of the participants’ discussion of enterprise risk and the current financial crisis.

Litigation risk and the audit committee (PDF) - June 25, 2008
Members met and discussed the role of the audit committee in addressing litigation risk, current litigation trends, interactions with both internal and external resources, and ways in which directors can reduce their personal liability.

The role of the board and audit committee in transactions (PDF) - February 20, 2008
The meeting discussion centered on the role of the board and the audit committee in transactions. In particular, members expressed interest in discussing governance principles, executing on a strategic plan, the board's role in due diligence and post-transaction activity, and the responsibilities more specific to the audit committee.

The evolution of internal audit (PDF) - October 17, 2007
Members discussed the longer-term direction of the internal audit function and the role of both the audit committee and management in identifying the appropriate scope of internal audit, attracting and retaining talented audit staff and driving the continuous improvement of the internal audit organization.

Information technology governance (PDF) - June 21, 2007
Explores information technology (IT) governance – particularly IT risks and opportunities – and the problems audit committees face in overseeing IT without an IT expert on the board. The network also discussed the sources of expertise upon which audit committees draw to understand IT issues.

Shared responsibility: the audit committee and the board (PDF) - March 29, 2007
Members discussed the shared responsibility of the audit committee and the board in addressing financial reporting integrity, with focus on ways the audit committee ensures the entire board is engaged with its work.

Preventing and investigating fraud - 26 January 2007 (PDF) - January 26, 2007
Members of the Pacific Southwest ACN discussed the audit committee's role in the prevention of fraud and effective tools for investigating fraud allegations.

Evaluating the CFO and the finance organization / The future of internal audit (PDF) - June 30, 2006
In their fourth meeting, members discussed the evolution and evaluation of the CFO, assessing the bench strength of the finance organization, and the future of internal audit post Section 404.

Section 404: year two and beyond (PDF) - March 29, 2006
With Section 404 more embedded but still evolving, audit committees and management are focusing on extracting further value from an expensive, time and labor intensive process that has, nevertheless, already yielded many benefits.

Enterprise Risk Management and the audit committee (PDF) - Dec. 29, 2005
Members of the Pacific Southwest ACN believe there is no “one-size-fits-all” risk management process. However, they emphasized that the risk management process begins with strategic planning.

The changing face of the audit committee (PDF) - Oct. 04, 2005
VantagePoint contains some interesting insights about the expectation gap that audit committee members believe has been created for them over fraud prevention.

Pacific Southwest ACN members are audit committee chairs of non-competing companies based in the region with approximately $2 billion to $25 billion in revenues. Current member companies include:

Abbott Laboratories

AIMCO

Amgen

Apollo Group

BMC Software

CapitalSource Bank

City National Corporation

DineEquity

Fleetwood Enterprises

IHS

Insight Enterprises

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