The Role and Function of the Audit Committee

There is no universal standard for the way in which audit committees work. Although broadly they covered the same activities, the number of formal meetings of companies reviewed ranged between 3 and 13 in the year. The time taken per meeting also differed considerably. Although all audit committee members must be independent non-executives, practice differs considerably as to whether the company chairman and/or the CEO regularly attend audit committee meetings. The documentation supporting audit committee work needs to be managed carefully to ensure that the committee members are well-informed, but are not so overloaded with information that key points are missed. Dealing with regulatory matters takes a great deal of audit committee time. It can be useful to schedule a ‘white space' meeting to discuss broader risk issues. Having multiple directorships, and being able to compare practices in different companies, is an advantage to audit committee members both in evaluating the performance of their committees and in providing strategic advice. Audit committee evaluation takes place in a variety of formal and informal ways, including interviews and questionnaires, administered internally and by external professionals. It is very important to non-executives that they feel that they can trust the company's executives. The corollary to this is that in situations where the executives are considered less trustworthy, governance might be difficult as well-qualified potential non-executives might be reluctant to join the board. There appears to be an expectations gap between how the audit committees see their regulatory role and how this is perceived by the media. For example, some parts of the media appear to see the audit committee role as the prevention and detection of fraud. This view sits uncomfortably with the views of audit committee members - in line with regulation - that theirs is an oversight function. Although audit committee practices differ widely, they appear to evolve to suit the companies' and individuals' particular contexts. Accordingly, legislation to standardise practice might not be useful, indeed, it may be counter productive. Given the potential changes to UK regulation that could arise from implementing the EU 8th Directive, it is important that this point be made explicitly to legislato

The Responsibilities of Executives: A Look at Problems and Goals in Decision Making

The modern-day organization and its executives are constantly faced with major problems of a social nature. These internal and external issues occur constantly for the firm. The business executive of today must understand these new problems so that he/she may deal more effectively with these developments. Leisure business not only plays a particularly important role in this area since it faces the similar problems of all firms, but also plays a key role as a mechanism for other firms to reduce their social and environmental problems. This work develops these complex aspects from an historical viewpoint and explains the new role of executives in policy-making

Electronic security - risk mitigation in financial transactions : public policy issues

This paper builds on a previous series of papers (see Claessens, Glaessner, and Klingebiel, 2001, 2002) that identified electronic security as a key component to the delivery of electronic finance benefits. This paper and its technical annexes (available separately at http://www1.worldbank.org/finance/) identify and discuss seven key pillars necessary to fostering a secure electronic environment. Hence, it is intended for those formulating broad policies in the area of electronic security and those working with financial services providers (for example, executives and management). The detailed annexes of this paper are especially relevant for chief information and security officers responsible for establishing layered security. First, this paper provides definitions of electronic finance and electronic security and explains why these issues deserve attention. Next, it presents a picture of the burgeoning global electronic security industry. Then it develops a risk-management framework for understanding the risks and tradeoffs inherent in the electronic security infrastructure. It also provides examples of tradeoffs that may arise with respect to technological innovation, privacy, quality of service, and security in designing an electronic security policy framework. Finally, it outlines issues in seven interrelated areas that often need attention in building an adequate electronic security infrastructure. These are: 1) The legal framework and enforcement. 2) Electronic security of payment systems. 3) Supervision and prevention challenges. 4) The role of private insurance as an essential monitoring mechanism. 5) Certification, standards, and the role of the public and private sectors. 6) Improving the accuracy of information on electronic security incidents and creating better arrangements for sharing this information. 7) Improving overall education on these issues as a key to enhancing prevention.Knowledge Economy,Labor Policies,International Terrorism&Counterterrorism,Payment Systems&Infrastructure,Banks&Banking Reform,Education for the Knowledge Economy,Knowledge Economy,Banks&Banking Reform,International Terrorism&Counterterrorism,Governance Indicators

How CIOs Engage Boards on Digitisation: The Case of Financial Services Companies in South Africa

Boards as custodians of companies have to understand and lead digital transformation. Chief Information Officers (CIOs) can assist with educating and advising the board on digital transformation, but how do CIOs engage boards on the matter? Digitisation is at the heart of the financial services companies. Accordingly, this dissertation focussed on companies in the financial services industry. The main research question for this dissertation is: how do CIOs of South African (SA) financial services companies engage boards on digitisation? A detailed literature review was conducted which suggested research questions on digitisation, the role of the board and the CIO’s, engagement between them, and performance. The interview schedule was based on the foregoing topics. The researcher adopted an interpretivist epistemological perspective to understand digitisation engagements from the perspectives of board members, non-IT executives, and CIOs. The researcher employed a qualitative research method to gain an in-depth understanding of the subject. Fifteen semi-structured interviews were conducted with board members, non-IT executives and CIOs from financial services companies. Six key themes emerged from the thematic analysis of the interviews, namely: digitisation, the board’s role, the CIO’s role, non-IT executives’ role, digitisation engagement, and value. It’s important to note that the non-IT executives’ role was an additional role that emerged from the thematic analysis, this role had not been discussed in the literature review. Non-IT executives owned strategy and owned digitisation initiatives. A new Chief Digital Officer (CDO) role also emerged from the thematic analysis as a sub-theme of the CIO’s role. The CDO’s mandate was to drive company-wide digitisation over and above the CIO’s role. Considering the six themes collectively, the three entities (boards, non-IT executives, & CIOs) have a key role to play pertaining to digitisation. The findings suggested that CIOs often engaged the board through board meetings, board committees, and ad-hoc engagements. CIOs often educated the board on digital technologies, digitisation opportunities and digitisation issues. Further, findings suggested that digitisation engagement influenced How CIOs Engage Boards on Digitisation: The Case of Financial Services Companies in South Africa - 2 - value (e.g. responding to digitisation opportunities & issues) rather than performance which was difficult to prove. The dissertation concludes with methodological, substantive and scientific reflections, and recommendations for practice and future research. The dissertation contributes to the growing body of knowledge on digitisation and demonstrates how the logic espoused in the Complex context of Snowden and Boone's (2007) Cynefin framework can be used to guide how CIOs and boards engage on digitisation

Formation of Replacement Dolomite in the Latemar Carbonate Buildup, Dolomites, Northern Italy: Part 2. Origin of the Dolomitizing Fluid and the Amount and Duration of Fluid Flow

Replacement dolomite in the Latemar carbonate buildup developed when limestone was infiltrated by reactive fluid. Minor-element, trace-element, and oxygen and carbon isotope compositions of dolomite and precursor limestone constrain the origin of the fluid and fundamental aspects of the flow… [See article for complete abstract]]]> 2008 English http://libres.uncg.edu/ir/asu/f/Carmichael_Sarah_2008_Formation_Pt2.pdf oai:libres.uncg.edu/4534 2014-02-11T06:01:42Z UNCG Key Data Management Issues in a Global Executive Information System NC DOCKS at The University of North Carolina at Greensboro Palvia, Prashant <![CDATA[Information technology plays a significant role in a global organization. Senior executives of these organizations need constant and timely access to global information for making decisions. This information originates in different places worldwide for a global organization and needs to be organized before it can be used for decision-making. The organization and management of global corporate data presents unique challenges. This paper discusses the data organization and management related issues for developing a global executive information systems (EIS) for senior executives of global companies. The objective of a global EIS is to provide executives with a consistent, integrated and summarized view of operational data from subsidiaries worldwide. The global EIS also provides access to external data that is captured from different sources. The system facilitates integrating the internal and external data for effective decision-making

Effective Directors

The ebook will be Open Access and made available on publication. Being a good board member is not about knowing everything; it is about asking the right questions and challenging appropriately. Effective Directors: The Right Questions To Ask (QTA) is a reference book for board members and executives globally to support them in their work. With chapters written by senior company board members and respected figures in corporate governance, the questions have been drawn together to offer food for thought and useful prompts that take boards beyond operational discussions. The book clearly presents key areas to be considered by the board (there are over 50 in total) and range from board composition, to data security, diversity and inclusion, and succession planning. The questions are ones that boards, in any organisation, should be asking themselves, their fellow board members, service providers, executives, and other stakeholders to ensure that the right issues are raised, transparency and effective oversight are achieved, and the board is fulfilling its role in governing the organisation. In addition to being invaluable for board members, the book is also a very useful tool for executives in understanding the kind of questions their board members are likely to ask, and the kind of questions that should be asked and discussed in the boardroom

Initiating Community Engagement for Enhancing Preservice Teacher Education

Facilitating community engagement in education is promoted and emphasised in university policies and strategic plans. How can a university facilitate innovations to develop collaborative partnerships with its community? This paper presents leadership processes for initiating community engagement with an Australian university and highlights examples of innovations in Science Education for Sustainable Living (SESL) with preservice teachers’ reflections on their teaching practices. Data collection included observations of practice, interviews, minutes of meetings, and written correspondence with a wide range of participants (i.e., senior QUT staff, lecturers, preservice teachers, principals, school executives and teachers, and other community members). A four-step process for implementing SESL innovations provided an example of university-community engagement, and was used as a catalyst for preservice teachers (n=14) to reflect on SESL, which provided opportunities for enhancing their science teaching practices. Results indicated that connecting the community with preservice teacher education aided in promoting understandings of sustainable living and kept environmental issues on the agenda. The four-step process implemented by the preservice teachers for SESL assisted to conceptually advance understandings of scientific causes and effects in order to propose appropriate solutions. Initiating university-community engagement required articulating visionary directions, understanding change processes, motivating potential key stakeholders, and promoting collaboration and team effort. In addition, distributing leadership aided in facilitating university-community collaboration and allowed for the implementation of a wider range of innovations. It was concluded that distributing leadership will be essential in order to sustain university-community engagement, particularly as key stakeholders in leadership roles can deploy energy and resources at levels required for successful collaborations

The Measurement and Antecedents of Turnover Intentions among IT Professionals

The purpose of this study is to present and test an integrated model of turnover intentions that addresses the unique nature of the IT profession. We identified a multidimensional set of HR practices likely to increase retention among IT employees and considered citizenship behaviors as well as two distinct types of organizational commitment as key antecedents of turnover intentions. A questionnaire was developed and sent to the Quebec members of the Canadian Information Processing Society. Data from 394 respondents were used to validate the measures and test our research model. We present and discuss the results and make a series of recommendations for IT and HR executives. Dans cette étude, nous présentons et testons un modèle de recherche portant sur la rétention des spécialistes en TI. Ce modèle examine les relations entre diverses pratiques de GRH, les comportements discrétionnaires, l'engagement organisationnel et les intentions de quitter des spécialistes en TI. Un questionnaire fût développé et envoyé aux membres de la Fédération de l'Informatique du Québec (FIQ). Les données de 394 questionnaires ont servi aux fins d'analyses statistiques. Nous présentons et discutons les résultats obtenus et faisons une série de recommandations aux hauts dirigeants en TI et en RH.IS staffing issues, IS turnover, attitudes, Gestion du personnel en TI, roulement du personnel en TI, attitudes

Interpretation and implementation of reputation/ brand management by UK university leaders

Reputation and brand management are topical issues in UK higher education but previous research has often focused on marketing practitioners within higher education (HE) institutions rather than the senior, strategic leaders. This paper, however, examines university Chief Executives’ understanding, attitudes and interpretation of reputation and brand management. Current literature on defining reputation and brand, research on branding in higher education, and the role of leaders in brand management, are examined to give context to the work. Research was conducted through interviews with Vice-Chancellors, Principals and Rectors from a selection of fourteen universities representing three different ‘generations’ (the 1992 universities, those formed in the mid-20th century, and older institutions) Whilst the work is exploratory in nature it does highlight this as a rapidly evolving area of perceived importance and discusses conclusions on some of the external and internal issues related to reputation and brand management in this sector