EY US Launches Independent Audit Quality Committee

NEW YORK, Jan. 23 -- Ernst and Young, an assurance, tax, transaction and advisory service, issued the following news release:

Ernst & Young LLP (EY US) announced the creation of its Independent Audit Quality Committee (IAQC), comprised of senior external leaders with extensive, diverse and highly relevant experiences. The IAQC will advise EY US senior leadership on the many aspects of the firm's business, operations, culture, talent strategy, governance and risk management that affect audit quality.

Jeanette M. Franzel, F. William (Bill) McNabb III and Charles (Chuck) H. Noski are the three inaugural members of the committee. Mr. McNabb will be serving as the chairman of the IAQC.

"At EY, we believe in the power of diverse points of view in all aspects of our business. This includes harnessing the value of independent perspectives to further strengthen audit quality," said Kelly Grier, EY US Chairman and Managing Partner and Americas Managing Partner. "We believe that gaining insight and advice from the IAQC will help us fulfill our important role of delivering high-quality audits that build confidence in the US and global capital markets. Leaders of the SEC have also observed the benefits of independent and diverse thinking brought by outside leaders to support audit quality and the public interest."

EY has long recognized the value of independent and objective insight and advice. Since 2011, the EY Global Governance Council (GGC) of Ernst & Young Global Ltd. (EY's global coordinating body), has included independent non-executive directors (INEs). These global INEs are also members of the Public Interest Committee of the GGC, which is focused on all aspects of quality and risk across the EY global network, including audit quality.

The US IAQC and the global INEs are intended to work closely together so insights can be shared across the EY organization.

Committee members bring extensive experience to their roles

Ms. Franzel recently served as a member of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB) and earlier held several senior roles at the Government Accountability Office (GAO). She is a certified public accountant, a certified internal auditor, a certified management accountant and a certified government financial manager and has received many distinguished industry and government awards.

"My entire career has been built on furthering audit integrity and driven by the knowledge that it is critical to market confidence and the public interest," said Ms. Franzel. "I respect the work that EY is doing in this area and am honored to advise them alongside my colleagues on the committee."

Mr. McNabb is the former chairman of the board of directors and board of trustees of Vanguard Group Inc. Mr. McNabb joined Vanguard in 1986, served as chief executive officer from 2008 to 2017, and was named chairman in 2010. Previously, he led each of Vanguard's client-facing business divisions. He currently serves on the board of UnitedHealth Group.

"Having served at the helm of an organization directly accountable to investors, confidence in the public audit is an area of great passion for me," said Mr. McNabb. "I look forward to working with EY and my fellow committee members towards the goal of audit transparency, trust and confidence."

Mr. Noski currently serves as a member of the boards of directors of Booking Holdings Inc. and Microsoft Corp., and he is chairman of the board of trustees of the Financial Accounting Foundation. He is a retired vice chairman of Bank of America Corp. and also served as the company's executive vice president and chief financial officer. Earlier in his career, he was a partner at another Big Four public accounting firm.

"Our globally interconnected economy brings new complexity to the audit, and my experience in a variety of roles positions me well to advise on related matters," said Mr. Noski. "I look forward to working with Jeanette and Bill as EY continues to enhance the high-quality work on which our capital markets and other stakeholders rely."

"We are proud that our strong leadership position and our ongoing efforts to advance audit quality have helped us attract venerable professionals like Jeanette, Bill and Chuck and look forward to benefiting from their depth of knowledge and diverse perspectives," Ms. Grier continued.

For a comprehensive overview of EY efforts to enhance audit quality, please refer to our 2018 audit quality report.

About Jeanette M. Franzel

Jeanette M. Franzel serves on the EY US Independent Audit Quality Committee. In this capacity, she counsels EY US senior leadership on areas that can further strengthen audit quality.

Ms. Franzel was previously a member of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB) where she provided strategic oversight for all PCAOB mission programs to oversee the audits of public companies and brokers and dealers that file with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). She was appointed by the SEC in February 2012 and served until January 2018.

Ms. Franzel brought extensive audit experience to the PCAOB after a distinguished career at the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO). She ended her tenure as Managing Director, overseeing all aspects of GAO's financial audits of the U.S. federal government. She also provided leadership for GAO's interdisciplinary teams, which performed a wide range of high-profile performance audits related to how well federal agencies met their objectives and missions. During and after the financial crisis, Ms. Franzel's team provided oversight of the U.S. government's efforts to stabilize the financial markets and promote economic recovery.

Ms. Franzel has testified numerous times before congressional committees and subcommittees on governance and accountability issues.

Ms. Franzel devotes time to providing guest lectures and meeting with faculty in accounting and business programs at colleges and universities around the country. She also serves as a Member of the Accounting Advisory Council of the School of Business at George Mason University.

Ms. Franzel has a BA in accounting and Spanish from the College of St. Teresa and an MBA from George Mason University. She also completed the Senior Executive Fellows program at Harvard University. She is a certified public accountant, a certified internal auditor, a certified management accountant and a certified government financial manager.

About F. William McNabb III

Bill McNabb III serves on the EY US Independent Audit Quality Committee. In this capacity, he counsels EY US senior leadership on areas that can further strengthen audit quality.

Mr. McNabb is the former chairman of the board of directors and board of trustees of Vanguard, a position he held from 2010 through 2018. He served as the company's CEO and president from 2008 to 2017. During his 30-year career with Vanguard, he had the opportunity to lead each of Vanguard's client-facing business divisions.

Mr. McNabb is a board member of UnitedHealth Group. In addition, he is the chairman of the board of the Zoological Society of Philadelphia and serves on the Wharton Leadership Advisory Board and the Dartmouth Athletic Advisory Board. He is also a board member of CECP: The CEO Force for Good and a board member of the Philadelphia School Partnership. Mr. McNabb served as Chairman of the ICI from 2013 - 2016 and is the Executive in Residence of the Drexel University Raj & Kamla Gupta Governance Institute.

Mr. McNabb earned an AB at Dartmouth College, holds an MBA from The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, and was awarded an honorary doctorate from Saint Joseph's University.

About Charles H. Noski

Chuck Noski serves on the EY US Independent Audit Quality Committee. In this capacity, he counsels EY US senior leadership on areas that can further strengthen audit quality.

He also currently serves on the boards of directors of Booking Holdings Inc. and Microsoft Corp., is chairman of the board of trustees of the Financial Accounting Foundation, and is a member of the AICPA and Financial Executives International.

In September 2012, Mr. Noski retired as vice chairman of Bank of America Corp. From May 2010 through June 2011, he served as executive vice president and chief financial officer, with responsibility for all finance functions as well as corporate treasury, global corporate strategy planning and development, investor relations, corporate investments and global principal investments.

From 2003 to 2005, Mr. Noski was corporate vice president and chief financial officer of Northrop Grumman Corp., and was a director from 2002 to 2005. From 1999 to 2002, Mr. Noski served as senior executive vice president and chief financial officer of AT&T Corp., and he retired as vice chairman of the board of directors upon the completion of AT&T's restructuring in November 2002.

Before joining AT&T, Mr. Noski was president, chief operating officer and a member of the board of directors of Hughes Electronics Corp., a publicly-traded subsidiary of General Motors Corp. in the satellite and wireless communications business. He began his career as an auditor, serving seven years as an audit partner at another Big Four firm before moving to a corporate role.

Over the course of his career, Mr. Noski has served on the boards of directors of Air Products & Chemicals Inc., Automatic Data Processing Inc., Avery Dennison Corp., Avon Products, Inc., Morgan Stanley and the National Association of Corporate Directors. He is also a past member of the Standing Advisory Group of the PCAOB.

Mr. Noski holds an MS in accounting and a BS in business administration from California State University, Northridge, and received an honorary doctorate from the California State University system. He also was a member of the inaugural class of the Financial Executives International Hall of Fame in 2006.

About EY

EY is a global leader in assurance, tax, transaction and advisory services. The insights and quality services we deliver help build trust and confidence in the capital markets and in economies the world over. We develop outstanding leaders who team to deliver on our promises to all of our stakeholders. In so doing, we play a critical role in building a better working world for our people, for our clients and for our communities.

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This news release has been issued by Ernst & Young LLP, a member firm of EY serving clients in the US.