The new webcasts feature recognized governance experts and board advisory firms offering best practices and advice, including a step-by-step self-assessment for audit committees.
"NASDAQ is proud to be involved in this important series of educational webcasts created to help corporate board and committee members carry out their responsibilities," said Edward S. Knight, executive vice president and general counsel, NASDAQ. "As the SEC and SROs finalize their audit committee rules, it's more important than ever for companies and directors to be fully informed. This second webcast in the series, developed for audit committee members, is especially valuable."
In one of the more anticipated webcasts, "Audit Committee Self-Assessment," Richard Steinberg, U.S. leader for corporate governance at PricewaterhouseCoopers, explains five key areas audit committees should evaluate to ensure effective corporate governance: setting committee standards, committee composition, committee responsibilities, committee execution, and committee governance.
"There is probably no audit committee member who has not thought about his or her liability. Carrying out a meaningful assessment of the audit committee is a great step to ensuring effective performance," said Steinberg. "I advise committees to avoid yes-no, on-off questions and instead take a qualitative look at the committee's responsibilities and how the committee is carrying out those responsibilities."
"In light of the increased scrutiny on corporate boards resulting from new rules and regulations, the need to educate board members on new governance guidelines is at an all-time high," said TK Kerstetter, president of Board Member Inc./Corporate Board Member. "We received an excellent response to our first series of educational board governance webcasts introduced last December. Our second series will again focus on the issues that are of greatest importance to board members of publicly traded companies today."
In addition to the audit committee self-assessment, additional webcast topics include director's and officer's liability protection, benefits of the new listing requirements, recruiting directors, avoiding risks with a governance audit, and basic commandments for directors. In addition to Steinberg, Knight and Kerstetter, expert contributors include:
- Martin Bienenstock and Robert Messineo, partners, Weil Gotshal & Manges LLP;
- Julie Daum, North American leader, Board Services Practice, Spencer Stuart; and
- John Keogh, president and chief operating officer, National Union Fire Insurance Company of Pittsburgh, PA, a member company of American International Group, Inc.
The complete set of Board Governance Series webcasts is accessible at multiple website locations, including www.nasdaq.com and www.boardmember.com. There is no fee for access, and webcasts can be viewed at any time. More webcasts, supplements, and guidance will follow, as the series is designed to cover a myriad of critical board topics.
About Corporate Board Member
Corporate Board Member is a leading information resource for senior officers and directors of publicly traded corporations, large private companies, and Global 1000 firms. The bimonthly publication provides readers with decision-making tools to deal with the corporate governance challenges confronting their boards. Corporate Board Member further extends its governance leadership through an online resource center, conferences, director training programs, roundtables, an extensive database, and timely research. The magazine maintains the most comprehensive, up-to-date database of directors and officers serving on boards of publicly traded companies listed with the NASDAQ Stock Market, New York Stock Exchange, and American Stock Exchange. Headquartered in Brentwood, Tennessee, with editorial offices in New York, Corporate Board Member is published by Board Member Inc. and is the sister publication of Bank Director magazine. For more information, visit www.boardmember.com.
About The NASDAQ Stock Market
NASDAQ (OTCBB:NDAQ) is the world's largest electronic stock market. With approximately 3,600 companies, NASDAQ lists more companies and trades more shares per day than any other U.S. market. It is home to category-defining companies that are leaders across all areas of business including technology, retail, communications, financial services, media and biotechnology industries. For more information about NASDAQ, visit the NASDAQ Web site at www.NASDAQ.com or the NASDAQ NewsroomSM at www.NASDAQnews.com.
