Part B: A letter addressed to current and potential shareholders of your assigned company. This should be to a maximum of 750 words.
Issue to be investigated: Corporate governance
Good corporate governance promotes investor confidence. The Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) Corporate Governance Council released its Corporate Governance Principles and Recommendations (the “Principles and Recommendations”) in 2003, with the third edition released in 2014. The Council is currently consulting on proposals to update and issue a fourth edition of these Principles and Recommendations. Whilst a number of changes have been put forward, we would like you to consider whether a further change in relation to the composition of an entity’s Audit Committee is warranted and whether it will complement Principle 2: Structure the board to be effective and add value. Specifically, Recommendation 4.1 of Principle 4: Safeguard integrity in corporate reporting requires a board of a listed company to have an audit committee, and identifies the composition of that audit committee including, for example, the number of independent directors. In the USA, it further identifies that at least one of the independent outside directors needs to be a financial expert.
You have recently been appointed as a graduate accountant in a company listed on the Australian Securities Exchange Top 300 (ASX300), and are currently reporting to the Chief Financial Officer (CFO). (Note: you will be assigned your specific company by the beginning of Week 4). The CFO of your assigned company has been asked to consider whether the current board structure and composition is meeting the elements of good corporate governance practices, and whether the gender and cultural/ethnic mix of directors together with the inclusion of a financial expert, such as an accountant, on the Audit Committee would be of benefit to the entity and whether it will enhance financial reporting.
You are to research and provide advice to the CFO on whether the gender and cultural mix together
COMPANY = DOMINO’s Pizza Enterprise
A letter to current and potential shareholders (to be completed and submitted by each individual student) in relation to your company’s board composition based on one of the following issues with specific reference to the impact each has on your company’s financial reporting quality. Each student within the group must complete a different topic from one of the following issues:
a. Expertise
b. Gender, and
c. Cultural diversity.
This letter should be in plain English suitable for non-accounting experts who may not have the requisite accounting and finance skills.
(i) The letter should include a description of the issue you are explaining to your shareholders, and
(ii) provide information on how your company will address this issue should it be required to.
