FRIDAY: 21 May 2021. Time Allowed: 3 hours.
Answer ALL questions. Marks allocated to each question are shown at the end of the question.
QUESTION ONE
PM & Associates is a Certified Secretaries firm where you are one of the partners. The firm was contracted by Queen Bee PLC, a publicly listed company to conduct a governance audit for the financial year ended 31 June 2020.
Required:
1. Explain the importance of the governance audit report that your firm prepared to the following interested parties:
Members of the board of Queen Bee PLC. (2 marks)
Shareholders of Queen Bee PLC. (2 marks)
Capital Markets Authority (CMA). (2 marks)
Queen Bee PLC bankers. (2 marks)
2. Sketch a matrix to demonstrate the parameters you used in determining the level of compliance to the Institute of Certified Secretaries (ICS) issued governance standards:
GS 001 General Meetings. (4 marks)
GS 002 Meetings of the Board. (4 marks)
GS 003 Minutes. (4 marks)
(Total: 20 marks)
QUESTION TWO
1. Discuss four ways in which an in-house company secretary might help the board to strengthen governance practices using governance standards. (8 marks)
2. Maoni & Maono Certified Secretaries firm has three partners. The firm has just concluded a governance audit assignment and issued a qualified opinion. The audit opinion was signed in the name of the firm.
Required:
Examine three reasons which would make the client to question the audit opinion issued in the name of Maoni & Maono Certified Secretaries. (6 marks)
3. With reference to governance and secretarial audit, explain the following terms:
Forensic governance audit. (2 marks)
Peer review. (2 marks)
Expert’s opinion. (2 marks)
(Total: 20 marks)
QUESTION THREE
1. Evaluate the significance of a management letter in the governance audit process. (4 marks)
2. Examine five key roles played by the Institute of Certified Secretaries (ICS) in the governance audit process. (10 marks)
3. Outline six activities that the auditor should carry out during the planning stage of a governance and secretarial audit. (6 marks)
(Total: 20 marks)
QUESTION FOUR
1. Working papers are integral in ensuring quality of a governance audit.
Required:
With regard to the above statement, explain five other benefits contributed by working papers. (5 marks)
Highlight five contents of working papers. (5 marks)
2. Assess five contents of a governance compliance checklist, citing a document to be reviewed for evidence in each case. (10 marks)
(Total: 20 marks)
QUESTION FIVE
1. Explain the term “secretarial audit”. (2 marks)
2. Outline six general principles that each member of the engagement team is required to observe while carrying out a governance and secretarial audit assignment. (6 marks)
3. With regard to governance control systems in an organisation, evaluate the role of the board in risk management. (6 marks)
4. Analyse three challenges that a governance auditor might face while carrying out due diligence on a prospective client. (6 marks)
(Total: 20 marks)
