A group of Canada’s provincial securities regulators have put Canadian-listed companies on notice that they’re displeased with a spot check recently performed to determine whether companies are in compliance with audit rules.
The staff of regulatory authorities in five provinces reviewed a sample of 95 issuers from across Canada to determine how well they complied with Multilateral Instrument 52-110 Audit Committees, Canada’s rules governing audit committee duties and responsibilities. The review found that only 64 percent of those companies’ audit committee charters adequately outlined the responsibilities necessary to comply with the audit rules, and only 72 percent could show that their audit committee members were fully independent of the company.
