On behalf of General Council, the Audit Committee has carried out its assigned duties from 2019 through 2023, adjusting for pandemic related constraints. The audit committee focuses on:
The committee is chaired by Robin Pilkey, CPA, CA, ICD.D; and five members appointed by the 44th General Council. They are: Randall Hobbs; Steven Lowden, CPA, CA; Andrew Spears, MPPM; Jane McDonald; Cathy Rushton, FCPA, CA, MBA. Pension Board Chair Anne Soh, FSA, FCIA, ICD.D; and Pension Board member Darwin Bozek, FCPA, FCGA, ICD.D also served on this committee. Staff support for the committee has been provided by the General Secretary, Michael Blair, Chief Financial Officer, Erik Mathiesen, Controller, Harry Li and Mary Worrall. The committee primarily conducts its meetings electronically, with an in-person meeting held in May 2023 for the first time since the start of the pandemic. Notably, the external audit has been conducted remotely since 2019.
Each year, the Audit Committee:
In 2022, as part of our ongoing commitment to best financial governance practice, the audit committee conducted an audit service RFP process, and a thorough evaluation of proposals from four auditing service provider. Following the assessment, the committee recommended a transition from PWC to KPMG LLP as our external auditor. Consequently, the 2022 fiscal year marked the commencement of our partnership with KPMG LLP as our new auditing firm.
The 2022 fiscal year marked the first year with the new auditor, KPMG LLP, during which audit engagements for the National Account, Pension Plan, and KAIROS program were successfully completed, resulting in unqualified opinions (clean opinions) being issued to all entities. In accordance with the first-year audit requirements, a significant amount of effort was dedicated to reviewing the church's existing financial policy documentation practices and financial reporting processes. The fresh perspective from KPMG LLP has proven to be beneficial and has offered valuable suggestions and recommendations for the church to further enhance its financial management function.
The most significant recommendations from KPMG were related to areas including finance unit staffing level, process and policy documentation, and process enhancement. As the finance unit is going through a critical staff succession phase and a transformation exercise, the inputs from KPMG LLP’s fresh perspective are considered timely and valuable.
The pandemic has changed how works can be done with no exception to audit field works. The entire 2022 fiscal year audit was again conducted with auditors and finance staff working remotely. Looking ahead, we anticipate that the existing audit process will continue to become more technology-based to support evolving structural changes, such as the implementation of shared accounting services for some regions to achieve economies of scale. There will also be ongoing efforts to make church financial information more transparent and accessible.
The Committee has engaged the ongoing refinement of an overall risk management framework for church operations to support a more comprehensive approach to risk assessment and mitigation. A particular focus has been the church’s investment in information technology (IT) system solutions and related security. The committee also receives updates on operational and reputational risk management efforts.