Tapestry Networks - Southeast Audit Committee Network

Southeast Audit Committee Network

The Southeast Audit Committee Network is a regional extension of the Audit Committee Leadership Network in North America . The Southeast ACN is a group of audit committee chairs from leading companies based in the southeastern region of the U.S.

Convened by Ernst & Young's area leadership and produced by Tapestry Networks, the Southeast ACN meets four times a year - twice in person and twice via teleconference. 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 Southeast ACN dialogues is captured and published by Tapestry to a wider audience in VantagePoint. Recent issues of VantagePoint from the Southeast ACN include:

Review of internal audit (PDF) - June 11, 2010
Network members met in Atlanta to discuss the importance of internal audit. Members were joined by Jacqueline Wagner, a consultant with Ernst & Young’s risk advisory practice and former general auditor at a number of Fortune 100 Companies in the Financial Services, Automotive, and Oil and Gas industries.

Leading risk management practices (PDF) - February 1, 2010
Network members met and discussed leading risk management practices. Members were joined by Jim Traut, director of enterprise reputation and risk management at H. J. Heinz Company.

Fraud and other corporate malfeasance (PDF) - September 28, 2009
Southeast Audit Committee Network members met and discussed the impact of the current economic environment on the risk of fraud and other corporate malfeasance

Funding and liquidity in today's capital markets (PDF) - May 12, 2009
Members met in Atlanta to discuss the funding and liquidity challenges companies are currently facing. This discussion was informed by Mark Chancy, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer at SunTrust Banks.

The CEO and the audit committee (PDF) -
January 13, 2009
Southeast Audit Committee Network members met and discussed the relationship between the CEO and the audit committee.

Enterprise Risk (PDF)
International Financial Reporting Standards (PDF) - September 9, 2008
The Southeast Audit Committee Network members discussed International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) and the audit committee’s role in enterprise risk.

Litigation risk and the audit committee (PDF) - May 6, 2008
Members met and discussed the role of the audit committee in addressing litigation risk, current litigation trends, and interactions with resources including outside counsel and the external auditor.

Information technology governance (PDF) - January 15, 2008
Southeast Audit Committee Network members discussed the oversight of information technology, including IT risks and opportunities, security issues, and proper IT leadership.

The audit committee's role in major transactions (PDF) - September 11, 2007
Members discussed their the audit committee's role in reviewing the financial implications of a deal and monitoring post-transaction performance.

Lessons for audit committees from high-profile accounting scandals (PDF) - May 17, 2007
Members of the Southeast Audit Committee Network met to discuss what lessons audit committees could take away in the wake of recent accounting scandals in North America and Europe.

Shared responsibility: the audit committee and the board (PDF) - March 2, 2007
The Southeast Audit Committee Network met to discuss how the audit committee and the board share responsibility for helping assure a company’s financial reporting integrity. Other topics included the management and mandate of the internal audit function; the impact of possible changes in regulators’ guidance on implementing Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act; and the audit committee’s role in enterprise risk management.

Evaluating the CFO and the finance organization / The future of internal audit (PDF) - October 5, 2006
Members of the Southeast Audit Committee Network empathize with the role of the CFO, would like to have a say in the CFO's evaluation, and be able to support the finance function. Members also discussed the future of internal audit, noting that the function's role has expanded, but questioning whether the broadened job scope is appropriate.

Maximizing the value of the audit and the external auditor (PDF) - May 22, 2006
Three distinct themes emerged from the Southeast Audit Committee Network's discussion on maximizing the value of the audit and the external auditor: communication and competence build trust and support productive relationships; audit chairs want an appropriate audit scope, but audit fees remain a concern; and auditor evaluation practices vary widely.

Preventing, detecting, investigating fraud: the audit committee's role (PDF) - February 22, 2006
VantagePoint explores the audit committee's relationship with the external auditor, the impact of the current regulatory environment on that relationship, and who in the company determines whether an accounting matter is material.

Enterprise Risk Management and the audit committee (PDF)
- October 31, 2005
Members of the Southeast Audit Committee Network 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)
- June 28, 2005
VantagePoint contains some interesting insights about the expectation gap that audit committee members believe has been created for them over fraud prevention.

Southeast 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:

AGCO

AutoZone

DSW

Eastman

FairPoint Communications

Harris Corporation

H.J. Heinz Company

Kimberly-Clark and Legg Mason

Lender Processing Services

Lennar

Publix Super Markets

RF Micro Devices