Purpose
The Audit Committee (the "Audit Committee") of the Board of Directors (the "Board") of Adamera Minerals Corp. (the "Company") is appointed by the Board to assist the Board in fulfilling its oversight responsibilities. The Audit Committee's primary duties and responsibilities are to monitor:
- a.the integrity of the financial statements of the Company;
- b.the external auditor's qualifications and independence;
- c.the performance of the Company's external auditor;
- d.management's reporting on internal control; and
- e.the compliance by the Company with legal and regulatory requirements.
Although the Audit Committee has the powers and responsibilities set forth in this Charter, the role of the Audit Committee is oversight. The majority of the members of the Audit Committee are not full-time employees of the Company and may or may not be accountants or auditors by profession or experts in the fields of accounting or auditing and, in any event, do not serve in such capacity. Consequently, it is not the duty of the Audit Committee to conduct audits or to determine that the Company's financial statements and disclosures are complete and accurate and are in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles ("GAAP") and applicable rules and regulations. These are the responsibilities of management and the external auditor.
Committee Membership
The Audit Committee shall consist of no fewer than three members, a majority of whom must be unrelated directors, as defined in Policy 3.1 of the TSX Venture Exchange (the "TSX-V") Corporate Finance Manual and Policies. Each member of the Audit Committee shall be financially literate and at least one member shall have accounting or related financial experience. For purposes of this section, a director shall be deemed to be "financially literate" if he or she has the ability to read and understand a balance sheet, an income statement and the notes attached thereto and shall be deemed to have "accounting or related financial experience" if he or she has the ability to analyze and interpret a full set of financial statements, including the notes attached thereto, in accordance with Canadian GAAP.
The members of the Audit Committee will be appointed or reappointed by the Board following each annual meeting of the Company's shareholders. Each member of the Audit Committee will continue to be a member of the Audit Committee until his or her successor is appointed unless he or she resigns or is removed by the Board or ceases to be a director of the Company. Where a vacancy occurs at any time in the membership of the Audit Committee, the Board may appoint a qualified individual to fill such vacancy and must appoint a qualified individual if the membership of the Audit Committee is less than three directors as a result of any such vacancy.
Meetings
The Audit Committee shall meet as often as it determines, but not less frequently than quarterly. Any member of the Audit Committee or the external auditor may call a meeting of the Audit Committee. At all Audit Committee meetings a majority of the members shall constitute a quorum. The acts of the Audit Committee at a duly constituted meeting shall require the vote of a majority of the members present provided that, in any circumstances, a resolution or other instrument in writing signed by all members of the Audit Committee shall avail as the act of the Audit Committee. The Audit Committee shall meet periodically with management, the internal auditors and the external auditor in separate executive sessions to discuss any matters that the Audit Committee or any of these groups believe should be discussed privately. The Audit Committee may request any officer or employee of the Company or the Company's external legal counsel or external auditor to attend a meeting of the Audit Committee or to meet with any members of, or consultants to, the Audit Committee.
The members of the Audit Committee shall select a chair from among their number who must be an unrelated director. The chair will preside at each meeting of the Audit Committee and, in consultation with the other members of the Audit Committee, shall set the frequency and length of each meeting and the agenda of items to be addressed at each upcoming meeting. In addition, at the first meeting held following each annual meeting of shareholders (the "First Meeting"), the chair, in consultation with the other members of the Audit Committee, shall determine the list of items to be addressed by the Audit Committee during the coming year (the "Annual Agenda").
The chair shall ensure that the agenda for each upcoming meeting of the Audit Committee is circulated to each member of the Audit Committee as well as each other director in advance of the meeting, and that the Annual Agenda is circulated to each member of the Audit Committee as well as each other director not later than five business days after is it finalized (which shall be not later than five business days after the First Meeting).
Committee Authority and Responsibilities
The Audit Committee shall have the sole authority and responsibility to appoint, nominate or replace the external auditor (subject, if applicable, to shareholder approval or ratification). The external auditors are ultimately accountable to the Audit Committee and to the Board, as representatives of the shareholders. The Audit Committee shall be directly responsible for the determination of compensation and oversight of the work of the external auditor (including resolution of disagreements between management and the external auditor regarding financial reporting) for the purpose of preparing or issuing an audit report or related work. The external auditor shall report directly to the Audit Committee. The Audit Committee shall preapprove all auditing services and permitted non-audit services (including the fees and terms thereof) to be performed for the Company by its external auditor. The Audit Committee may form and delegate authority to subcommittees consisting of one or more members when appropriate, including the authority to grant preapprovals of audit and permitted non-audit services, provided that decisions of such subcommittee to grant preapprovals shall be presented to the full Audit Committee at its next scheduled meeting. The membership of any such subcommittee must consist of a majority of unrelated directors. The Audit Committee shall consult with management but shall not delegate any of its responsibilities to management.
The Audit Committee shall have the authority, to the extent it deems necessary or appropriate, to retain independent legal, accounting or other advisors. The Company shall provide for appropriate funding, as determined by the Audit Committee, for payment of compensation to the external auditor and to any advisors employed by the Audit Committee.
The Audit Committee shall make regular reports to the Board. The Audit Committee shall review and reassess the adequacy of this Charter annually and recommend any proposed changes to the Board for approval. The Audit Committee shall annually review the Audit Committee's own performance.
In fulfilling its responsibilities, the Audit Committee shall:
Financial Statement and Disclosure Matters
- Review and discuss with management and the external auditor the annual audited financial statements and related documents, including disclosures made in management's discussion and analysis, prior to filing with the appropriate securities regulatory authorities or public dissemination.
- Review and discuss with management and the external auditor, if so engaged, the Company's quarterly financial statements and related documents including disclosures made in management's discussion and analysis, prior to filing with the appropriate securities regulatory authorities or public dissemination.
- Discuss with management the Company's press releases or material change reports discussing financial matters, including the use of "pro forma" or "adjusted" non-GAAP information, as well as financial information and earnings guidance provided to analysts and rating agencies. Such discussion may be done generally (consisting of discussing the types of information to be disclosed and the types of presentations to be made).
- Review and discuss with management all material off-balance sheet transactions, arrangements, obligations (including contingent obligations) and other relationships of the Company or any of its subsidiaries with unconsolidated entities or other persons including related persons, that may have a material current or future effect on financial condition, changes in financial condition, results of operations, liquidity, capital resources, capital reserves or significant components of revenues or expenses.
- Review and discuss with management and the external auditor the quality and acceptability of the accounting principles, policies and practices used in the preparation of the Company's financial statements, including all critical accounting policies and practices used, any alternative treatments of financial information, those policies for which management is required to exercise discretion or judgments regarding the implementation thereof, the ramification of their use and the external auditor's preferred treatment, as well as any other material communications between the external auditor and management.
- Discuss with the external auditor the matters required to be communicated to audit committees in accordance with the standards established by the Canadian Institute of Chartered Accountants relating to the conduct of the audit.
Annual or Periodic Reviews
- Annually or periodically, as appropriate, review any significant changes to the Company's accounting principles and financial disclosure practices as suggested by the external auditors, management or the internal audit group.
- Annually review separately with each of management, the external auditors and the internal audit group:
- any significant disagreement between management and the external auditors or the internal audit group in connection with the preparation of the financial statements;
- any difficulties encountered during the course of the audit, including any restrictions on the scope of work or access to required information; and
- management's response to each.
- Annually discuss with the external auditors, without management being present:
- their judgments about the quality and appropriateness of the Company's accounting principles and financial disclosure practices as applied in its financial reporting;
- the completeness and accuracy of the Company's consolidated financial statements; and
- the external auditor's relationship with management.
- Annually or periodically, as appropriate, discuss with management the Company's major financial and investment risk exposures and the steps management has taken to monitor, control and manage such exposures, including the Company's risk assessment and risk management guidelines and policies.
- Review and discuss with management, the external auditor and the Company's in-house and external legal counsel, as appropriate, any legal, regulatory or compliance matters arising periodically that could have a significant impact on the Company's financial statements, including applicable changes in accounting standards or rules.
Oversight of the Company's Relationship with the Independent Auditor
- The Audit Committee shall review annually the selection, qualifications and performance of the external auditor, including considering whether the external auditor's quality controls are adequate.
- Review, in advance where feasible, all auditing services to be provided by the external auditor, determine which non-audit services may not be provided by the external auditor and approve any non-audit services, as permitted by applicable securities laws and the TSX-V.
- Ensure that the external auditors submit to the Audit Committee on an annual basis a written statement affirming their independence, discuss with the external auditor any disclosed relationships or services that may impact its objectivity and independence and satisfy itself as to the external auditor's independence, taking into account the opinions of management and internal auditors.
- Consider whether, in order to assure continuing independence of the external auditor, it is appropriate to adopt a policy of rotating the lead (or coordinating) audit partner having primary responsibility for the audit and the audit partner responsible for reviewing the audit on a regular basis.
- Recommend to the Board policies for the Company's hiring of employees or former employees of the external auditor who participated in any capacity in the audit of the Company.
- Meet with the external auditor prior to the audit to review with the external auditor and management the external auditor's audit plan, discuss and approve audit scope, staffing locations, reliance upon management, and internal audit and general audit approach.
Oversight of the Company's Internal Audit Function
- Review annually the performance of the controller or the Chief Financial Officer, if he or she acts in the capacity of controller.
- Review, based upon the recommendations of the external auditor and the Company's senior internal auditing executive, the scope and plan of the work to be done by the internal audit group.
- Review and, if it deems appropriate, approve the appointment and replacement of the Company's controller.
- Review the significant reports to management prepared by the internal auditing department and management's responses and subsequent follow-up to any identified weaknesses.
- In consultation with the external auditor and the internal audit group, review the adequacy of the Company's internal control structure and procedures designed to ensure compliance with the applicable laws and policies, and discuss the responsibilities, budget and staffing needs of the internal audit group.
Compliance Oversight Responsibilities
- Obtain reports from management, the Company's controller and the external auditor that the Company and its subsidiaries are in conformity with applicable legal requirements and the Company's Code of Business Conduct and Ethics. Review all insider reports or the equivalent. Advise the Board with respect to the Company's policies and procedures regarding compliance with applicable laws and regulations and with the Company's Code of Business Conduct and Ethics.
- Establish procedures for the receipt, retention and treatment of complaints received by the Company regarding accounting, internal accounting controls or auditing matters, and the confidential, anonymous submission by employees of concerns regarding questionable accounting or auditing matters.
- Discuss with management and the external auditor any correspondence with regulators or governmental agencies and any published reports which raise material issues regarding the Company's financial statements or accounting policies.
- Discuss with the Company's external legal counsel legal matters that may have a material impact on the financial statements or the Company's compliance policies.
Other
- Review and, if deemed appropriate, approve all related-party transactions.
- Review all public disclosure documents of the Company containing audited or unaudited financial information before release, including any prospectuses, annual information forms and information circulars.
- Perform any other activities consistent with this Charter, the Company's articles and governing laws as the Audit Committee deems necessary or appropriate.
Disclosure
The Audit Committee will provide a report of its activities to the shareholders of the Company as part of the Company's management proxy circular for its annual meeting.