AMENDED AND RESTATED CHARTER OF THE AUDIT COMMITTEE OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS GOAMERICA, INC.
Audit Committee Purpose
The Audit Committee is appointed by the Board of Directors to assist the Board in fulfilling its oversight responsibilities. The Audit Committee's primary duties and responsibilities are to:
- Assume direct responsibility for the appointment, compensation, evaluation of the work and, where appropriate, the replacement of the Company's independent auditors, including resolution of any disagreements that may arise between the Company's management and the Company's independent auditors regarding financial reporting.
- Monitor the integrity of the Company's financial reporting process and systems of internal controls regarding finance, accounting, and legal compliance.
- Monitor the independence and performance of the Company's independent auditors and internal auditing department.
- Provide an avenue of communication among the independent auditors, management, the internal auditing department, and the Board of Directors.
- Encourage adherence to, and continued improvement of, the Company's accounting policies, procedures, and practices at all levels; review of potential significant financial risk to the Company; and monitor compliance with legal and regulatory requirements.
- Assure the ultimate accountability of the independent auditors to the Board of Directors and the Audit Committee, as representatives of the Company's shareholders.
- The Audit Committee has the authority to conduct any investigation
- appropriate to fulfilling its responsibilities, and it has direct access to the independent auditors as well as anyone in the organization. The Audit Committee has the authority to retain, at the Company's expense, independent legal, accounting, or other consultants or experts it deems necessary in the performance of its duties.
Audit Committee Composition and Meetings
Audit Committee members shall meet the applicable independence requirements of the National Association of Securities Dealers (the "NASD"), the Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC") and the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 (the "Act"). The Audit Committee shall be comprised of three or more directors as determined by the Board, each of whom shall be independent (as defined by applicable rules of the NASD and the SEC) directors, free from any relationship that would interfere with the exercise of his or her independent judgment, and no Audit Committee member may, other than in the capacity of an Audit Committee or board member, accept any consulting, advisory, or other compensatory fee from the Company or its subsidiaries or be an affiliated person of the Company or its subsidiaries. All members of the Audit Committee shall have a basic understanding of finance and accounting and be able to read and understand fundamental financial statements. It is the intention of the Board to assure that at least one member of the Audit Committee shall satisfy the requirements of an "audit committee financial expert" (as defined under the Act and pursuant to regulations of the SEC).
Audit Committee members shall be appointed by the Board. If an Audit Committee Chair is not designated or present, the members of the Audit Committee may designate a Chair by majority vote of the Audit Committee membership.
The Audit Committee shall meet at least four times annually, or more frequently as circumstances dictate. The Audit Committee Chair shall prepare and/or approve an agenda in advance of each meeting. The Audit Committee shall meet privately in executive session at least annually with management, the director of the internal auditing department, the independent auditors, and as a committee to discuss any matters that the Audit Committee or each of these groups believe should be discussed. In addition, the Audit Committee, or its Chair, should communicate with management and the independent auditors quarterly to review the Company's financial statements and significant findings based upon the auditors review procedures.
Audit Committee Responsibilities and Duties
Review Procedures
- Review and reassess the adequacy of this Charter at least annually. Submit the charter to the Board of Directors for approval and have the document published in the Company's proxy statement at least every three years in accordance with SEC regulations.
- Require the independent auditors to advise the Audit Committee in advance in the event that the independent auditors intend to provide any professional services to the Company other than services provided in connection with an audit or a review of the Company's financial statements ("non-audit services"). Approve in advance all audit, review or attest engagements and all permitted non-audit services performed by the Company's independent auditors.
- Review all non-audit services provided by the Company's auditors and obtain confirmations from time to time from the Company's outside auditing firm that such firm is not providing to the Company (i) any of the non-auditing services listed in Section 10A(g) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, or (ii) any other non-audit serviceor any auditing service that has not been approved in advance by the Audit Committee.
- Approve the provision of non-audit services that have not been pre-approved by the Audit Committee, but only to the extent that such non-audit services qualify under the de minimus exception set forth in Section 10A(i)(1)(B) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Record in its minutes and report to the Board all approvals of audit services and non-audit services granted by the Audit Committee.
- Review the Company's annual audited financial statements prior to filing or distribution. Review should include discussion with management and independent auditors of significant issues regarding accounting principles, practices and judgments.
- In consultation with the management, the independent auditors, and the internal auditor, consider the integrity of the Company's financial reporting processes and controls. Discuss significant financial risk exposures and the steps management has taken to monitor, control, and report such exposures. Review significant findings prepared by the independent auditors and the internal auditing department together with management's responses.
- Review with financial management and the independent auditors the Company's quarterly financial results prior to the release of earnings and/or the Company's quarterly financial statements prior to filing or distribution. Discuss any significant changes to the Company's accounting principles and any items to be communicated by the independent auditors in accordance with SAS 61. The Chair of the Committee may represent the entire audit committee for purposes of this review.
- Review the independence and performance of the independent auditors and annually appoint the independent auditors or discharge the independent auditors when circumstances warrant. The Audit Committee shall require the independent auditors to submit, on an annual basis, a formal written statement, consistent with Independent Standards Board Standard 1, setting forth all relationships between the independent auditors and the Company that may affect the objectivity and independence of the independent auditors. Such statement shall confirm that the independent auditors are not aware of any conflict of interest prohibited by Section 10A(i) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. The Audit Committee shall actively engage in a dialogue with the independent auditors with respect to any disclosed relationships or services that may impact the objectivity and independence of the independent auditors. The Audit Committee shall take, or recommend to the full Board that the full Board take, appropriate action to oversee the independence of the independent auditors.
- Establish procedures for the receipt, retention and processing of complaints received by the Company regarding accounting, internal accounting controls and auditing matters and for the confidential submission by the Company's employees of concerns regarding questionable accounting or auditing matters.
- On an annual basis, review and discuss with the independent auditors all significant relationships they have with the Company that could impair the auditors' independence.
- Review the independent auditors' audit plan - discuss scope, staffing, locations, reliance upon management and internal audit, and the general audit approach.
- Prior to releasing the year-end earnings, discuss the results of the audit with the independent auditors. Discuss certain matters required to be communicated to audit committees in accordance with AICPA SAS 61.
- Consider the independent auditors' judgments about the quality and appropriateness of the Company's accounting principles as applied in its financial reporting and ensure the auditing firm reports to the Audit Committee under the requirements set forth in Section 204 of the Act.
- Review the budget, plan, changes in plan, activities, organizational structure and qualifications of the internal audit department, as needed.
- Review the appointment, performance, and replacement of the senior internal audit executive.
- Review significant reports prepared by the internal audit department together with management's response and follow-up to these reports.
- On at least an annual basis, review with the Company's counsel, any legal matters that could have a significant impact on the organization's financial statements, the Company's compliance with applicable laws and regulations, and inquiries received from regulators or governmental agencies.
- Commencing on such date as Section 102(a) of the Act becomes effective, obtain confirmation from the independent auditors at the commencement of each audit that such firm is a "registered public accounting firm" as such term is defined under the Act.
- Require the independent auditors to report to the Audit Committee all critical accounting policies and practices to be used, all alternative treatments of financial information within generally accepted accounting principles that have been discussed with the Company's management, ramifications of the use of such alternative disclosures and treatments, the treatments preferred by the independent auditors and other material written communications between the independent auditors and the Company's management, including management's letters and schedules of unadjusted differences.
- Investigate or consider such other matters within the scope of its responsibilities and duties as the Audit Committee may, in its discretion, determine to be advisable.
Other Audit Committee Responsibilities
- Annually prepare a report to shareholders as required by the Securities and Exchange Commission, such report to be included in the Company's annual proxy statement.
- Perform any other activities consistent with this Charter, the Company's by-laws, the Company's certificate of incorporation and governing law, as the Committee or the Board deems necessary or appropriate.
- Maintain minutes of meetings and periodically report to the Board of Directors on significant results of the foregoing activities.