The Audit Committee of the Board of Directors shall consist of members, including a Chairman, appointed by the Board. The Committee members will be appointed by the Board and may be removed by the Board in its discretion. All members shall be independent directors, as determined by the Company in accordance with New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) criteria and the rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission(SEC); and further, no member shall have any material relationship, with the Company or otherwise, that in the opinion of the Board would interfere with the exercise of independent judgment as a Committee member. The Committee shall not consist of fewer than three non-employee members. All members of the Committee shall be financially literate, and at least one member shall be an "audit committee financial expert" as defined by the rules and regulations of the SEC.
The Board shall appoint an individual to serve as Chairman, and may also appoint a Secretary for the Committee. A majority of the members of the Committee shall constitute quorum for all purposes and the act of a majority of the members present at any meeting at which a quorum is present shall be the act of the Committee.
Purpose
The Board appointed the Committee to oversee:
In discharging its oversight role,the Committee is empowered to investigate any matter brought to its attention with full access to all books, records, facilities and personnel of the Company. The Committee has the authority to retain outside counsel,advisors or other experts, as it deems necessary or advisable. The Board and the Committee are in place to represent the Company’s shareholders;accordingly, the independent auditor is ultimately accountable to the Board and the Committee.
Meetings
The Committee shall meet as often as its members deem necessary to perform the Committee’s responsibilities.
The Committee will meet periodically, with management, the senior-most internal auditor, and the independent auditors in separate sessions to discuss any matters, which the Committee or these groups believe should be discussed privately with the Committee. The Committee will also meet at any time that the independent auditors believe communication to the Committee is required.
Authority and Responsibilities
The Committee’s job is one of oversight and it recognizes that the Company’s management is responsible for preparing the Company’s financial statements and that the independent auditors are responsible for auditing those financial statements.
The Committee shall assist the Boarding monitoring the Company’s financial reporting processes, systems of internal control, the independence and performance of the Company’sin dependent auditors and the performance of the internal auditors, and shall provide an avenue of communication among management, the independent auditors, the internal auditors and the Board. The Committee shall perform any other activities consistent with the Company’s Articles of Incorporation, By-Laws and governing law as the Committee or the Board deems necessary or appropriate.
The Committee will make regular reports to the Board and will propose any necessary action to the Board.The Committee will review and assess the adequacy of this charter at least annually, and recommend any proposed changes to the Board for approval.The Committee will annually evaluate its own performance.
The following duties shall be the common recurring activities of the Committee in carrying out its oversight function. These duties are set forth as a guide with the understanding that the Committee may diverge from this guide as appropriate given the circumstances.
The Committee’s duties are to: