BT has had an Audit Committee since it was privatised in 1984. The committee is currently chaired by Phil Hodkinson. The other members are all independent non-executive directors. They are Clay Brendish, John Nelson, Carl Symon and Maarten van den Bergh. The Board has reviewed membership of the committee and is satisfied, for the purposes of the new Combined Code on Corporate Governance, that collectively the committee has recent and relevant financial experience.
The committee reviews BT's systems of internal controls and risk management, receiving reports from the Operating Committee and the company's internal and external auditors. Its conclusions are reported to the Board, which takes responsibility for the disclosures on internal controls in the annual report.
The Audit Committee also considers the company's published financial reports for statutory and regulatory compliance and against standards of best practice and recommends to the Board appropriate disclosure in these reports.
It also reviews annually the performance of the company's external auditors, PricewaterhouseCoopers, to ensure an objective, professional and cost-effective relationship is maintained. It recommends to the Board the appointment and reappointment of the external auditors, and their fees for their audit services. Each year the committee sets aside time to seek the views of the external auditors in the absence of any executives.
Audit Committee Terms of Reference
