I’m preparing for an upcoming board audit committee meeting, and I am conscious that I am reading the briefing papers more carefully, slowly and deliberately than usual. I am always thorough, but recent events have given me pause. I am sure I am not the only member of an audit committee who, seeing the headlines about accounting that touch the boardroom, is taking extra care of late.
In April, Groupon’s audit committee made headlines because the company found some accounting discrepancies that should have been caught earlier. This followed concerns about the company’s accounting before it went public in November of 2011. The spotlight was on Groupon’s board and its audit committee, with questions about whether it had enough expertise in the room and whether all had been asking the hard questions. The committee had strong business experience ‑ among its members was Starbucks Chief Executive Officer Howard Schultz ‑ but the bigger question was whether the board had enough financial experience. Some mea culpas and a couple of new board members with weighty accounting credentials later, Groupon presses on.
See full Article: http://blogs.reuters.com/lucy-marcus/2012/11/28/audit-committee-member-the-toughest-job-youll-ever-love/
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