Agenda I. Snapshot: Top Issues that Audit Committees should Keep in Mind

Agenda II. The Audit Committee and Good Governance

                  • Revised Code of Corporate Governance Board Committees
                  • Specific Duties and Responsibilities
                    - On financial reporting
                    - On internal control system
                    - On internal audit
                    - On external audit

Agenda III. Audit Committee Roles and Responsibilities: Adding Value

                  • Financial Reporting and Disclosures
                    - Understanding the business
                    - Promote financial reporting quality and transparency
                    - Materiality
                    - Significant changes during the reporting period
                    - Related Party Transactions

                  • Internal Control System and Risk Management
                    - Risk Management and Internal Control System
                    - Financial Reporting Fraud

                  • Oversight of Internal Audit
                    - Internal Audit
                    - Empowering internal audit

                  • Oversight of External Auditors
                    - Why the external auditor oversight is important?
                    - Auditor independence
                    - Communications with the external auditor
                    - External auditor relationship with internal audit
                    - Evaluation of the external auditor
                    - Changing auditors

                  • Culture and Compliance – The Soul of Corporate Accountability
                    - Tone at the Top
                    - Compliance and ethics programs

Agenda IV. Assessment of Performance of the Audit Committee

                  - A Robust Assessment
                  - Guidelines under the IC Code
                  - Board action on assessment

Agenda V. Building an Effective Audit Committee

                  - Committee composition
                  - Meetings/ minutes of meetings
                  - Training requirements of committee members
                  - Climate of trust and candor/ Culture of Open Dissent

Course Director & Lecturer: Judith V. Lopez, CPA

She is former senior partner and chairperson of PwC Philippines with more than 35 years of experience in the fields of auditing, financial reporting and internal controls.

She served as the chairperson of International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) External Audit Committee (EAC), 2021; and was member of IMF EAC from 2018 to 2021.

Moreover, she served as chairperson of the Philippine Auditing and Assurance Standards Council, the Association of Certified Public Accountants in Public Practice in the Philippines and the Financial Executives Institute of the Philippines.

She also became a member of the board of directors of the Philippine Institute of Certified Public Accountants and a member of the Financial Reporting Standards Council.

She was an independent director and chairperson of the audit committee of the Philippine Veterans Bank until June 2022.