Joint Audit Committee of the Executive Council and the DFMS
Mandate
Resolved, the House of Bishops concurring, That Canon I.4.3 is hereby amended by adding a new subsection (g), with succeeding subsections to be relettered, to read as follows:
Sec. 3(g) Upon joint nomination of the Chair and Vice Chair, the Executive Council shall elect a Joint Audit Committee of the Council and the Domestic and Foreign Missionary Society. The Committee shall be composed of 6 members, one of whom shall be a member of the Executive Council's Committee on Administration & Finance, one from the membership of the Joint Standing Committee on Program, Budget and Finance, and the remaining four shall be members of the Church-at-large, having experience in general business practices. The members shall serve for a term of three years beginning on January 1 following a regular meeting of the General Convention or immediately following their appointment, whichever comes later, and continue until a successor is appointed, and may serve two consecutive terms, after which a full triennium must elapse before being eligible for re-election. The Chair and Vice-Chair of Council shall designate the Chair of the Committee from among its members. The Audit Committee shall regularly review the financial statements relating to all funds under the management or control of the Council and the Society and shall report thereon at least annually to the Council and the Society.
Upon recommendation of the Audit Committee, the Executive Council shall employ on behalf of the Council and the Society an independent Certified Public Accountant firm to audit annually all accounts under the management or control of the Council and Society. After receipt of the annual audit, the Audit Committee shall recommend to the Council and Society what action to take as to any matters identified in the annual audit and accompanying management letter. The operations of the Audit Committee shall be set out in an Audit Committee Charter. The Audit Committee shall review, at least annually, the Committee's Charter and recommend any changes to the Executive Council for approval; and be it further
Resolved, That all of the current members of the Audit Committee have their respective terms extended until December 31, 2009; and be it further
Resolved, That the Joint Rules of Order are hereby amended by deleting Rule 11:
EXPLANATION
The Audit Committee is currently created through the By-laws of Executive Council and by reference in Joint Rule 11. An Audit Committee is of critical importance to the prudent exercise of the church's fiduciary responsibility and should, therefore, be established in Canon, although details of its operation may be set out elsewhere.