APPENDIX ACHARTER OF THE AUDIT COMMITTEE ORGANIZATION Members: The Audit Committee shall consist of three or more directors who are not members of the management and meet the independence and expertise requirements as defined by the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) Listed Company Manual. The chairperson and members of the Committee shall be appointed by the Board of Directors at the annual organization meeting of the Board. Meetings: Audit Committee meetings shall be in conjunction with regular Board of Directors meetings and at such other times as called by or on behalf of the chairperson of the Committee. A majority of the members of the Audit Committee shall constitute a quorum. The Committee shall act only on the affirmative vote of at least two of the members. ROLES The function of the Audit Committee is oversight. In fulfilling their responsibilities hereunder, it is recognized that the members of the Audit Committee are not full-time employees of the Company and are not, and do not represent themselves to be, accountants or auditors by profession. As such, it is not the duty of the Audit Committee or its members to conduct "fieldwork" or other types of auditing or accounting reviews or procedures, and each member of the Audit Committee shall be entitled to rely on (i) the judgement of those persons and organizations within and outside the Company that it receives information from and (ii) the accuracy of the financial and other information provided to the Audit Committee by such persons or organizations. RESPONSIBILITIES The responsibilities of the Audit Committee are to: (1) Evaluate and select the outside auditor subject to ratification by the Board of Directors. (2) Review and advise on the selection and removal of the General Auditor. Additionally, the Audit Committee will review and recommend changes to the Internal Audit Charter. (3) Review, on an annual basis, a formal written statement prepared by the external auditor delineating all relationships relevant to audit independence between the auditor and the Company. This includes discussion of such relationships, and recommending that the Board of Directors take appropriate action in response to the outside auditor's report to satisfy itself of the outside auditor's independence. (4) Discuss with management or the independent auditor, as appropriate, the matters required to be discussed by Statement on Auditing Standards No. 61 relating to the conduct of the audit or quarterly review. This includes:
(5) Review with the independent auditors and members of senior management the adequacy and effectiveness of the Company's financial controls and financial reporting processes. (6) Meet at least annually with the senior internal auditing executive and the independent auditors in separate executive sessions. (7) Review, prior to filing, the Company's quarterly and annual reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on SEC Forms 10-Q and 10-K, including the Report of Management and Management's Discussion and Analysis in the Company's periodic reports to shareholders. (8) Prepare a report for inclusion in the annual proxy statement. The report will include at least the following:
(9) Review this charter on an annual basis and recommend to the Board of Directors changes to the charter as appropriate to support an affirmation by the Board of Directors. (10) Review management's assessment of compliance with laws, regulations, and Company policies relative to payments to individuals or organizations retained as foreign sales consultants. (11) Meet with representatives of the Board-appointed Ethics and Business Conduct Committee to review the Company's ethics and business conduct program and Company compliance with the principles of the Defense Industry Initiative on Business Ethics and Conduct. (12) Review significant pending and threatened litigation, the status of advancement of expenses to employees involved in company-related legal proceedings, and related indemnification. (13) Present to the Board of Directors such comments and recommendations as the Audit Committee deems appropriate, and perform such other duties as may be assigned by the Board or deemed appropriate by the Committee within the context of this charter. |