The Company has an Audit Committee comprising only of non-executive directors of the Board, as determined by the Board, with financial skills and experience relevant to the committee’s functions.
Mr Alexander (Sandy) Beard is Chairman of the Board and Ms Karen Matthews is Chair of the Audit Committee.
The Audit Committee will assist the Board in fulfilling its statutory and fiduciary responsibilities relating to:
- external reporting of financial information
- internal control and risk management processes
- legal and regulatory compliance
- independence and effectiveness of external auditors.
The Audit Committee will annually review the:
- quality and rigour of the audit
- quality and cost of the service provided
- audit firm’s internal quality control procedures
- assessment of auditor independence
The Audit Committee will approve all non-audit work that is proposed to be carried out by the auditors and ensure that it will not compromise the independence of the audit. Should a change in auditor be considered necessary a formal tendering process will be undertaken. Appointments will be made taking various matters into consideration and in consultation with management
The Board will ensure that the audit partner rotation policy is effective and the overall succession plan is designed to minimise the effect on the Company. Each half-year, the auditor will be required to provide a certificate regarding their independence as auditor of the Company.
In addition, the auditor will be required to confirm that all professional members of the audit team have declared that they are independent for the purposes of the Corporations Act and the firm’s own policies.