DCSL Corporate Services Limited held the 2nd edition of its Committee Seminar with the theme “Improving the Performance of the Audit Committee”© recently. The seminar was well-attended by Audit Committee members as well as Internal Auditors from a wide spectrum of companies operating in various sectors of the Nigerian economy, including construction, oil and gas, banking, insurance and ICT amongst others.
The sessions which were largely interactive examined the Role of the Audit Committee in Preventing Corporate Governance failure, Understanding Key Financial Ratios, Sustainability Reporting in Financial Statements, and Ethical Conduct & Whistleblowing amongst others and were facilitated by subject-matter experts including Mr. Olufemi Falola, Executive Director – Internal Audit, Etisalat Nigeria, Mr. Kayode Omoregie, a Senior Lecturer in Finance at the Lagos Business School, Mr. Edward Okolo, Acting Director Financial Standards and Corporate Governance at the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and Mrs. Bisi Adeyemi, Managing Director of DCSL Corporate Services Limited.
The seminar focused on the roles of the Audit Committee and Internal Audit in corporate governance. Some of the duties of these organs of Corporate Governance include assisting the Board with the assessment of the adequacy of Internal Control; ensuring best practice in internal control and risk management as well as assisting the Board in its general oversight function whilst emphasizing the need for Audit Committee members to be financially literate and to undergo continuous training.
Some key performance indicators discussed and highlighted by one of the facilitators include sustainable growth, profit, cash flow, going concern, the efficient use of a company’s assets and the maximization of shareholder value whilst also highlighting the need for the financial ratios not be reckoned in isolation but within the context of the company’s business and previous performance. It was agreed that the Audit Committee is the engine of the company and should be able to effectively engage and question management activities.
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The role of the Audit Committee’s in sustaining a corporate ethical culture and how to ensure protection for the whistleblower was discussed extensively. Participants agreed that Regulators needed to do more in the area of enforcing the protection of the Whistleblower to prevent reprisals. It was also agreed that to be effective and engender employee confidence, the Whistleblowing mechanism should be outsourced.
To be more effective, Audit Committee members were advised to always ask the right questions of Management, seek expert advice when necessary, stay up-to-date with industry trends, not to regard their role as merely ceremonial and maintain personal integrity
The Seminar which is an annual event is designed to provide continuous learning to Audit Committee members as key players in the corporate governance framework.
