AUDIT & RISK MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE
(Corporate Governance Recommendations 4.2 & 7.1)
CHARTER
The
Board of Directors of Immuron, having previously resolved to establish
a committee of directors to be known as the AUDIT COMMITTEE, now wish
to rename it as the AUDIT & RISK MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE (Committee)
and set out its objectives, authority, composition, term of office, and
duties and responsibilities, as follows.
Purpose.
The Committee is dedicated to independently:
Verifying and safeguarding the integrity of the company’s reporting,
Identifying, assess and monitor managements applications of risk minimisation procedures, and
Inform the board of material changes to the company’s risk profile.
Objectives
The
primary objective of the Committee is to assist the board of directors
in fulfilling its oversight responsibilities and, in particular, its
corporate governance commitments. The Committee will:
Determine the adequacy of the company’s administrative, operating and accounting controls, and policies including:
Systems of internal control and management of risk, and
The company’s process for monitoring compliance with laws and regulations and its own code of business conduct;
Oversee and appraise the quality of the audits conducted by the company’s external auditors;
Maintain,
by scheduling regular meetings, open lines of communications among the
board, management and the external advisors to exchange views and
information, as well as confirm their respective authority and
responsibilities; and
Serve as an objective party to review the
financial and risk management information presented by management to
the board, shareholders and other stakeholders.
Authority
The board authorises the Committee, within the scope of its responsibilities, to:
Seek any information it requires from any director, employee or external parties;
Obtain outside legal or other professional advice after agreement with the Chairman, and
Ensure the attendance of company officers at meetings as appropriate.
Composition
The
board shall appoint or remove any member of the Committee, which will
be comprised of a least three and not more than five non executive
directors, a majority of who will be independent. Wherever practical,
each member will be independent of senior management and operating
executives of the company and free from any relationships which might,
in the opinion of the board of directors, be construed as a conflict of
interest. An independent member shall be appointed chairman of the
Committee by the board of directors.
The Committee shall include
at least one member who has financial expertise and one member who has
an understanding of the industry in which the company operates.
Term of Membership
Members
of the Committee shall be appointed for an initial term of three years
after which they will be eligible for re-appointment by rotation. The
terms of the members shall be staggered so that no more than one third
of the members of the Committee shall stand for re-appointment in any
given year. The chairman shall be re-appointed annually by the board of
directors. The board of directors can remove a Committee member,
without reason, at anytime.
Meetings
The Committee will
meet at least quarterly and hold such additional meetings as the
chairman shall decide in order to fulfill its duties.
In
addition, the chairman is required to call a meeting of the Committee
if requested to do so by any board member, the company’s chief
executive, or the external auditors.
The company secretary will
act as secretary of the Committee and shall be responsible, in
conjunction with the chairman, for drawing up the agenda and
circulating it, supported by explanatory documentation to Committee
members prior to each meeting.
The secretary will also be
responsible for keeping the minutes of meetings of the Committee, and
circulating them to committee members and to the other members of the
board of directors.
A quorum shall consist of a majority of the Committee members.
Duties and Responsibilities
The duties and responsibilities of the Committee are as follows: -
a) Auditors
Recommend to the board the appointment and removal of the external auditors;
Review the audit plan of the external auditors;
Evaluate the overall effectiveness of the external audit through regular meetings with the auditors; and
Determine that no unreasonable management restrictions are being placed upon the external auditors.
b) Evaluation/Review
Establish
and regularly review the risk management systems set out in a risk
profile which documents the material risks facing the Company. This
profile should include both financial and non-financial risks.
Evaluate
whether management is setting the appropriate ‘control culture’ by
communicating the importance of internal control and the management of
risk and ensuring that all employees have an understanding of their
roles and responsibilities;
Consider how management implements and is held to account for the;
Security of computer systems and breakdown,
Risk management profile and systems, and
Internal and external regulatory compliance.
Evaluate
the adequacy and effectiveness of the company’s administrative,
operating, and internal compliance and control systems through active
communication with operating management and the external auditors;
Evaluate
the adequacy of the company’s accounting control system by reviewing
written reports from the external auditors and monitor management’s
responses and actions to correct any noted deficiencies;
Review any regulatory reports submitted to the company and monitor management’s response to them;
Review
the annual financial statements with the chief executive officer and
the external auditors and recommend acceptance to the board;
Focus
on judgmental areas, for example those involving valuation of assets
and liabilities; warranty, product or environmental liability,
litigation reserves, and other commitments and contingencies;
Evaluate the company’s exposure to fraud or other illegal acts; and
Receive reports from the company’s lawyer on matters the lawyer believes should be drawn to the Committee’s attention;
c) Ethics
Take
an active interest in ethical considerations regarding the company’s
policies, and practices including the codes of conduct for
directors/officers and to stakeholders; and
Monitor the standard of corporate conduct in areas such as arm’s-length dealings and likely conflicts of interest.
d) Policies
Gain
an understanding of the current areas of greatest financial and
operating risks and how management is managing these effectively;
Require
reports from management and the external advisors on any significant
proposed regulatory, accounting or reporting issue, to assess the
potential impact upon the company’s financial reporting and operating
process; and
Review and approve all significant accounting policy changes.
e) Other Matters
Identify and direct any special projects or investigations deemed necessary;
At least annually, review the adequacy of the Company’s insurance policies;
Review and update the charter and receive approval of changes from the board;
Evaluate the Committee’s own performance on a regular basis: and
Prepare a report to the board summarising the work performed by the Committee to fully discharge its duties during the year
Issued by the board of Anadis Limited 9 March 2004