AMENDED
AND RESTATED CHARTER OF THE
AUDIT COMMITTEE OF THE BOARD
OF DIRECTORS
OF
ADVANCED MATERIALS GROUP,
INC.
As Amended
and Restated on November 2, 2004
Purpose
The purpose
of the Audit Committee (the “Audit
Committee”) of Advanced Materials Group, Inc.
(the “Corporation”) is to assist the
Board of Directors of the Corporation in fulfilling
its oversight responsibilities by:
- Serving as an independent
and objective party to monitor the Corporation’s
financial reporting process and internal control
system;
- Reviewing and appraising
the audit efforts of the Corporation’s
independent accountants; and
- Providing an open avenue of communication among
the independent accountants, financial and senior
management and the Board of Directors.
Composition
The
Audit Committee shall consist of two or more directors,
each of whom shall be independent as and to the extent
required by federal securities laws and applicable
requirements of the principal exchange, system or
market on which the Corporation’s
common stock is traded, and free from any relationship
that, in the opinion of the Board of Directors, would
interfere with the exercise of his or her independent
judgment as a member of the Audit Committee. Directors
who are affiliates of the Corporation, or are officers
or employees of the Corporation or of its subsidiaries,
will not be considered independent.
All members of the Audit Committee
must be able to read and understand fundamental
financial statements, including a corporation’s balance sheet, income
statement, and cash flow statement, at least one
member of the Audit Committee is to have past employment
experience in finance or accounting, requisite professional
certification in accounting, or any other comparable
experience or background which results in the member’s
financial sophistication, including being or having
been a chief executive officer, chief financial officer
or other senior officer with financial oversight
responsibilities, and at least one member of the
Audit Committee shall qualify as an “audit
committee financial expert” as defined by the
Securities and Exchange Commission pursuant to Section
407 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002.
The members of the Audit Committee are to be selected
by the Board of Directors and shall serve until their
successors are duly elected and qualified. Unless
a Chairman of the Audit Committee is elected by the
full Board of Directors, the members of the Audit
Committee may designate a Chairman by majority vote
of the full Audit Committee membership.
Meetings
The Audit
Committee shall meet on at least a quarterly basis
and shall hold regular meetings as may be necessary
and special meetings as may be called by the Chairman
of the Audit Committee. As part of its job to foster
open communication, the Audit Committee should meet
at least annually with management and the independent
accountants in separate executive sessions to discuss
any matters that the Audit Committee or either of
these groups believe should be discussed privately.
The Audit Committee should meet with the independent
accountants and management quarterly to review the
Corporation’s
financial statements.
Relationship with Independent
Accountants
The Corporation’s independent
accountants are to be ultimately accountable to
the Audit Committee, and the Audit Committee shall
have the ultimate authority and responsibility
to select, evaluate and, where appropriate, replace
the independent accountants (or nominate the outside
auditor to be proposed for stockholder approval
in any proxy statement).
Responsibilities and Duties
To
fulfill its responsibilities and duties the Audit
Committee shall:
Documents/Reports Review
- Review and assess the adequacy of this Charter
at least annually, and otherwise as conditions
dictate.
- Review the Corporation’s
annual financial statements and any reports or
other financial information submitted to the
Securities and Exchange Commission or the public,
including any certification, report, opinion
or review rendered by the independent accountants.
- Review with financial management
and the independent accountants the Corporation’s
filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission
on Form 10-Q prior to their filing and prior
to the release of earnings.
- Review and discuss with management and the independent
accountants any material financial or non-financial
arrangements of the Corporation that do not appear
on the financial statements of the Corporation.
Independent Accountants
- Select the independent accountants, considering
their independence and effectiveness, and approve
the fees and other compensation to be paid to the
independent accountants.
- At least annually, obtain
from the independent accountants, and review
and discuss with the independent accountants,
a formal written statement delineating all relationships
the independent accountants and their related
entities have with the Corporation and its related
entities, consistent with Independence Standards
Board Standard No. 1 (or any successor thereto),
and actively engage in a dialogue with the independent
accountants with respect to any disclosed relationships
or services that in the independent accountants’ professional
judgment may reasonably be thought to bear on
the objectivity and independence of the independent
accountants.
- At least annually, obtain
written confirmation from the independent accountants
that, in the independent accountants’ professional judgment, the independent
accountants are “independent” of the
Corporation within the meaning of the federal securities
laws.
- Take or recommend that the Board of Directors
take, any appropriate action to oversee the independence
of the independent accountants.
- Review the performance of the independent accountants
and approve any proposed discharge of the independent
accountants when circumstances warrant.
- Periodically consult with
the independent accountants out of the presence
of management about internal controls and the
fullness and accuracy of the Corporation’s
financial statements.
- Pre-approve all auditing services to be provided
by the independent accountants to the Corporation
(including comfort letters in connection with securities
underwriting).
- Pre-approve all non-audit services to be provided
by the independent accountants to the Corporation
unless: (a) the aggregate amount of all such non-audit
services constitutes not more than 5% of the total
amount of revenues paid by the Corporation to its
independent accountants during the fiscal year
in which the non-audit services are provided; (b)
such services were not recognized by the Corporation
at the time of the engagement to be non-audit services;
and (c) such services are promptly brought to the
attention of the Audit Committee and approved prior
to completion of the audit by the Audit Committee
or by one or more members of the Audit Committee
to whom authority to grant such approvals has been
delegated by the Audit Committee.
- The Audit Committee shall have the authority
to delegate to one or more designated members of
the Audit Committee the authority to grant pre-approvals
of audit and non-audit services. The decisions
of any such member to pre-approve such services
shall be presented to the full Audit Committee
at its scheduled meetings.
- Discuss with any registered public accounting
firm that performs an audit for the Corporation
(1) all critical accounting policies and practices
to be used, (2) all alternative treatments of financial
information within generally accepted accounting
principles that have been discussed with management
officials of the Corporation, ramifications of
the use of such alternative disclosures and treatments,
and the treatment preferred by the registered public
accounting firm; and (3) other material written
communications between the registered public accounting
firm and the management of the Corporation, such
as any management letter or schedule of unadjusted
differences.
Financial Reporting Processes
- In consultation with the
independent accountants, review the integrity
of the organization’s
financial reporting processes, both internal and
external.
- Consider the independent
accountant’s
judgments about the quality and appropriateness
of the Corporation’s accounting principles
as applied in its financial reporting.
- Consider and approve, if
appropriate, major changes to the Corporation’s
auditing and accounting principles and practices
as suggested by the independent accountants or
management.
- Establish regular and separate
reporting to the Audit Committee by each of management
and the independent accountants regarding any
significant judgments made in management’s
preparation of the financial statements and the
view of each as to appropriateness of such judgments.
- Following completion of the annual audit, review
separately with each of management and the independent
accountants any significant difficulties encountered
during the course of the audit, including any restrictions
on the scope of work or access to required information.
- Review and resolve any significant disagreement
among management and the independent accountants
in connection with the preparation of the financial
statements.
- Review with the independent accountants and
management the extent to which changes or improvements
in financial or accounting practices, as approved
by the Audit Committee, have been implemented.
- Prior to the filing of any
periodic report of the Corporation under the
Securities Exchange Act of 1934, receive confirmation
from the Corporation’s
principal executive and principal accounting officers
that they have disclosed to the Corporation’s
independent accountants and the Audit Committee:
(1) all significant deficiencies in the design
or operation of internal controls that are reasonably
likely to adversely affect the Corporation’s
ability to record, process, summarize, and report
financial information; (2) any material weaknesses
in internal controls; and (3) any fraud, whether
or not material, that involves management or other
employees who have a significant role in the Corporation’s
internal control over financing reporting.
- Establish procedures for the receipt, retention
and treatment of complaints received by the Corporation
regarding accounting, internal accounting controls,
or auditing matters.
- Establish procedures for the confidential, anonymous
submission by employees of the Corporation of concerns
regarding questionable accounting or auditing matters.
Ethical and Legal Compliance
- Review and approve all related-party transactions
after reviewing each such transaction for potential
conflicts of interest and other improprieties.
- The Audit Committee shall have the authority
to retain and compensate such independent counsel,
experts and other advisors as it determines necessary
to carry out its duties.
- The Audit Committee shall have the authority
to conduct or authorize investigations into any
matters within its scope of responsibilities and
shall have the authority to retain outside advisors
to assist it in the conduct of any investigation.
- Establish, review and update periodically one
or more codes of conduct and ethics and ensure
that management has established a system to enforce
these codes.
- Review, with the Corporation’s counsel,
any legal matter that could have a significant
impact on the Corporation’s financial statements.
Perform any other activities
consistent with this Charter, the Corporation’s
bylaws and governing law, as the Audit Committee
or the Board of Directors deems necessary or appropriate.
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