Information for Non-Accountants

MEMBERS OF AUDIT COMMITTEES AND OTHER PUBLIC COMPANY BOARDS

The Office of the Chief Accountant of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has developed information on independence for Audit Committees. It is available at www.sec.gov/info/accountants/audit042707.htm.

ARTICLES ON AUDITOR INDEPENDENCE AND OTHER ETHICS REQUIREMENTS

• "Help for Solving CPAs' Ethical Dilemmas" (Journal of Accountancy, April 2009)
• A Global Standard for Professional Ethics” (Journal of Accountancy, May 2008)
• "Navigating the Crossroads of Control and Independence" (Journal of Accountancy, December 2007)
• "An Update for Audit Committees: New Rules on Auditor Provided Tax Services" (Directors Monthly, May 2007)
• "PCAOB Rules on Independence and Personal Tax Services Current Guidance for Public Company Auditors" (CPA Journal, February 2007)
• "How Audit Committees Can Assess Auditor Independence" (Directors Monthly, December 2006)
• "Ethics Rules Get Tighter" (Journal of Accountancy, December 2006)

OTHER RESOURCES

Center for Audit Quality (CAQ)

The Center for Audit Quality was created to serve investors, public company auditors and the markets. The Center’s mission is to foster confidence in the audit process and to aid investors and the capital markets by advancing constructive suggestions for change rooted in the profession’s core values of integrity, objectivity, honesty and trust.

Ethics Resource Center (ERC)

The Ethics Resource Center is devoted to independent research and the advancement of high ethical standards and practices in public and private institutions.  For 85 years, the ERC has been a resource for institutions committed to strong ethics cultures.

National Association of Corporate Directors (NACD)

NACD is a national non-profit membership organization dedicated exclusively to serving the corporate governance needs of corporate boards and individual board members of companies ranging from Fortune 100 public companies to small, over-the-counter, closely held, and private firms.

Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB)

The PCAOB is a private, nonprofit corporation created by the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 to oversee the auditors of public companies. The PCAOB was created to protect investors and the public interest by promoting informative, fair, and independent audit reports.

The Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 directs the PCAOB to establish auditing and related attestation, quality control, ethics, and independence standards and rules to be used by registered public accounting firms in the preparation and issuance of audit reports as required by the Act or the rules of the Securities and Exchange Commission.