Audit & Finance Committee Terms of Reference

FAST has an Audit and Finance Committee which reports directly to the board of directors.

The following is the committee’s terms of reference:

Role of the Audit & Finance Committee

The role of the Audit & finance committee is to oversee the efficient financial and risk management of FAST and to report and make recommendations to the board.

Membership, Appointment and Meeting Arrangements

• The committee will be comprised of the Treasurer, Chairperson, General Manager and Financial Administrator.
• The Treasurer will chair the committee.
• The membership term of the committee will be three years. Members may be asked to serve a second term.
• The quorum necessary for the transaction of the business of the committee will be three members
• (one must be a director).
• The committee may require other parties to attend its meetings, including board members and the external auditor.
• The committee shall meet quarterly throughout the year.

Key Responsibilities

• Review the draft annual financial statements and related reports of the company and recommend their approval to the board.
• Make recommendations to the board on the appointment of external auditors.
• Monitor the external auditor’s independence, objectivity and effectiveness.
• Review and make recommendations to the board in respect of matters raised in external annual audit report.
• Review accounting policies, financial management processes and internal controls across the organisation.
• Monitor expenditure to ensure that it is in line with the approved budget.
• Review the annual budget and recommend its approval to the board.
• Develop and assesses long-term financial strategy.
• To approve all staff training requests were relevant (cost implications to organisation).
• Review and report to the board on significant capital expenditure proposals.
• Review on behalf of the board any financial or risk management issues regarded by the committee or the board as critical to the well-being of the organisation.
• Ensure that there is an on-going risk assessment process in place and also ensure that risk management and risk avoidance measures are in place.

Resources

• The board of the company will provide sufficient resources to enable the committee to satisfactorily perform its functions.
• The committee may seek external professional advice, as it deems necessary to discharge its responsibilities.

Reporting relationships

• The committee will report to the board on the outcome of its meetings and minutes of meetings will be forwarded to board members.
• The board will review the performance of the committee on an annual basis.