Meeting |
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Report |
Meeting |
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Report |
February 26, 2002 |
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| Russell Ranson introduced today's guest speaker,
Fletcher Wright. Mr. Wright is Managing Partner-Southeast for Deloitte & Touche.
The area under his supervision covers seven states and Puerto Rico. He holds a Bachelors
degree in Business Administration from the University of North Carolina, an MBA from
Queens College's McColl School of Business, and he completed the Advanced Management
Program at Harvard Business School. Mr. Wright has more than 35 years of professional experience in accounting and auditing, and merger and acquisitions services. His primary focus at Deloitte & Touche is quality client service, and he led the development of Deloitte & Touche's Client Satisfaction and Assessment Process, a proven methodology for understanding client needs and expectations and consistently meeting or exceeding their expectations. He serves as an advisory partner to senior management and facilitates the matching of firm-wide resources with client requirements. He is active in professional and community organizations, including being a member of American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, an elder at Myers Park Presbyterian Church, a board member of North Carolina Dance Theater, a member of the Society of International Business Fellows and the Harvard Business School Association. Mr. Wright expressed that, in light of the recent Enron debacle and the subsequent troubles of their accounting firm, Arthur Andersen, he wished to have a measure of levity in his presentation and in the question and answer period, hopefully at someone else's expense. Mr. Wright's presentation was titled "The Role of Independent Auditors: Perception vs. Reality." The role and responsibility of an auditing firm is to gauge whether a company is conforming to established guidelines of generally accepted accounting principles. This sounds simple to do; however, the world is not simple. An auditing company is responsible for reviewing internal audit controls and for testing that account transactions are recorded properly. The goal of an audit is to provide accurate financial information for a potential investor to get a picture of the financial status of the company so that he or she may make an informed investment decision. Recently, the press has paid particular attention to the issue of scope of services provided by accounting firms. Enron is the seventh largest company in the U.S. It holds a market share of 70 percent in energy-related commodities and services. It provides audit and non-audit services. Its non-audit services are largely provided in the area of information technology. Enron gained such a large market share because of its integrated services, something that all large accounting firms offer. The broader areas of expertise provided through integrated services are provided by auditors, actuaries, analysts, attorneys, and tax experts. These specialists are needed to provide a quality audit. However, there is a perception that it is inappropriate for an audit to be done by an accounting firm providing all of these services. On average, the number of restatements of financial statements is less than 1 percent. Restatements may be the result of misjudgment, fraud, and/or the SEC having a different interpretation of an audit, to name a few possibilities. Every restatement undermines the confidence of the financial system. Mr. Wright predicted that the Enron debacle will result in less flexibility in accounting practices, more regulations, and more cost. The meeting was presided over by President Jim. Peggy Wesp introduced visitors and guests. Tom Hutchins reported Health and Happiness by reading a humorous letter published in "The New York Times" in 2000 that had a banking/ financial spin to it. Don Steger led Rotary in song. Bill Underwood provided the invocation. Cynthia Marshall introduced new Rotary member Martin Godwin, a family friend for 25 years. Watch for Martin's new member profile in the "Reporter." President Jim introduced Justin Perkason, last year's Rotary Foundation Ambassador Scholarship winner, and invited him to tell the Club about his upcoming plans. Justin reported that, with his scholarship, he would be attending the Universite del Salvatore in Buenos Aires, Argentina. He is leaving shortly and will remain there for one year, studying the synthesis of literature and politics. He thanked the Club for the opportunity that he has ahead of him. * * * |
New Member
2002 Education, Public University UNC-Charlotte Dr. Claude C. Lilly was
born in Atlanta, Georgia, in 1946. He earned a Bachelors degree in Insurance from Georgia
State University in 1968, his Masters degree in 1970, and his Doctorate in Risk Management
and International Finance in 1973. * * * |
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