Page 41 - Sun Resources Annual Report 2013

In fulfilling its responsibilities, the audit committee:
• Receives regular reports from management, and the
external auditors.
• Meets with the external auditors if necessary.
• Reviews the processes the CEO and CFO have in
place to support their certificates to the Board.
• Reviews any significant disagreements between the
auditors and management, irrespective of whether
they have been resolved.
• Provides the external auditors with a clear line of direct
communication at any time to either the Chairperson of
the audit committee or the Chairperson of the Board.
The audit committee has authority, within the scope of its
responsibilities, to seek any information it requires from
any employee or external party.
External auditors
The Company and audit committee policy is to appoint
external auditors who clearly demonstrate quality and
independence. The performance of the external auditor is
reviewed annually and applications for tender of external
audit services are requested as deemed appropriate,
taking into consideration assessment of performance,
existing value and tender costs. BDO was appointed as
the external auditor in 1994. It is BDO’s policy to rotate
audit engagement partners on listed companies at least
every five years, and in accordance with that policy a new
audit engagement partner was introduced from the year
ended 30 June 2009.
An analysis of fees paid to the external auditors, including a
break-down of fees for non-audit services, is provided in the
Directors’ report and in a note to the financial statements.
It is the policy of the external auditors to provide an annual
declaration of their independence to the Board.
The external auditor will attend the annual general meeting
and be available to answer written shareholder questions
submitted no later than five business days before the
AGM, about the conduct of the audit and the preparation
and content of the audit report.
Principles 5 and 6:
Make timely and balanced disclosures
and respect the rights of shareholders
Continuous disclosure and shareholder communication
The Company has written policies and procedures on
information disclosure that focus on continuous disclosure
of any information concerning the Group that a reasonable
person would expect to have a material effect on the price
of the Company’s securities. A summary of these policies
and procedures is available on the Company’s website.
The Company Secretary has been nominated as the
person responsible for communications with the Australian
Stock Exchange (ASX) in collaboration with the CEO. This
role includes responsibility for ensuring compliance with
the continuous disclosure requirements in the ASX Listing
Rules and overseeing and co-ordinating information
disclosure to the ASX, analysts, brokers, shareholders, the
media and the public.
All information disclosed to the ASX is posted on the
Company’s website as soon as it is disclosed to the
ASX. When analysts are briefed on aspects of the
Group’s operations, the material used in the presentation
is released to the ASX and posted on the Company’s
website. Procedures have also been established for
reviewing whether any price sensitive information has been
inadvertently disclosed and, if so, this information is also
immediately released to the market.
All shareholders can receive a copy of the Company’s
annual and half-yearly reports. In addition, the Company
seeks to provide opportunities for shareholders to
participate through electronic means. Initiatives to facilitate
this include making all Company announcements for the
last four years and financial reports for the last three years
available on the Company’s website, including a broadcast
of the Company’s annual general meeting. In addition
the Company’s website includes a section on media and
Broker’s reports.
The website also enables users to provide feedback
and has an option for shareholders to register their email
address for direct email updates under “contact us”,
together with useful links to other related websites.
STATEMENT OF CORPORATE GOVERNANCE PRACTICES 39