Asta Funding, Inc.
Audit Committee Charter
I. Statement of Policy
The Audit Committee shall assist the Board of Directors (the “Board”) of Asta Funding, Inc. (“Asta”) in fulfilling its oversight responsibility by reviewing the accounting and financial reporting processes of Asta and its subsidiaries (collectively, the “Company”), the Company’s system of internal controls regarding finance, accounting, legal compliance and ethics, and the audits of the Company’s financial statements. In so doing, it is the responsibility of the Audit Committee to maintain free and open means of communications among the Company’s Board of Directors, outside auditors and senior management. The Audit Committee’s primary responsibilities and duties are:
The Audit Committee will primarily fulfill these responsibilities by carrying out the activities identified in Section IV of this Charter.
The Company shall be responsible for providing the Audit Committee with appropriate funding, as determined by the Audit Committee, in order to compensate the outside auditors and advisors engaged by or employed by the Audit Committee.
II. Composition of the Audit Committee
The Audit Committee shall consist of at least three “independent” Directors of Asta and shall serve at the pleasure of the Board. An “independent” Director is defined as an individual who (a) is not an officer or salaried employee or an affiliate of the Company, (b) does not have any relationship that, in the opinion of the Board, would interfere with his or her exercise of independent judgment as an Audit Committee member, (c) meets the independence requirements of the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) and the NASDAQ Stock Market or such other securities exchange or market on which Asta’s securities are traded and (d) except as permitted by the SEC and the NASDAQ Stock Market or such other securities exchange or market on which Asta’s securities are traded, does not accept any consulting, advisory or other compensatory fee from the Company.
At least one member of the Audit Committee shall be a “financial expert” as defined by the SEC and the NASDAQ Stock Market or such other securities exchange or market on which Asta’s securities are traded. Each Audit Committee member must be able to read and understand financial statements, including a balance sheet, income statement, and cash flow statement.
The members of the Audit Committee shall be designated by the full Board from time to time. The Board shall designate one member of the Audit Committee to serve as chairperson of the committee.
III. Meetings and Minutes
The Audit Committee shall meet at least quarterly, with additional meetings if circumstances require, for the purpose of satisfying its responsibilities. The Audit Committee shall maintain minutes of each meeting of the Audit Committee and shall report the actions of the Audit Committee to the Board with such recommendations as the Audit Committee deems appropriate.
IV. Responsibilities and Duties of the Audit Committee
The Audit Committee shall oversee and monitor the Company’s accounting and financial reporting process, internal control system and disclosure control system, review the audits of the Company’s financial statements and review and evaluate the performance of the Company’s outside auditors. In fulfilling these duties and responsibilities, the Audit Committee shall take the following actions, in addition to performing such functions as may be assigned by law, the Company’s certificate of incorporation, the Company’s bylaws or the Board.
1. The Audit Committee shall assume direct responsibility for the appointment, retention and oversight of the work of the outside auditors and, when appropriate, the replacement of the outside auditors. As part of the audit process, the Audit Committee shall meet with the outside auditors to discuss and decide the audit’s scope. The Audit Committee shall determine that the outside audit team engaged to perform the external audit consists of competent, experienced, auditing professionals. The Audit Committee shall also review and approve the compensation to be paid to the outside auditors and shall be authorized to compensate the outside auditors.
2. The Audit Committee shall take, or recommend that the full Board take, appropriate action to ensure the independence of the outside auditors. The Audit Committee shall require the outside auditors to advise the Company of any facts or circumstances that might adversely affect the outside auditors’ independence or judgment with respect to the Company under applicable auditing standards. The Audit Committee shall require the outside auditors to submit, on an annual basis, a formal written statement setting forth all relationships between the outside auditors and the Company that may affect the objectivity and independence of the outside auditors. Such statement shall confirm that the outside auditors are not aware of any conflict of interest prohibited by Section 10A (l) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (the “Exchange Act”). The Audit Committee shall actively engage in a dialogue with the outside auditors with respect to any disclosed relationships or services that may impact the objectivity and independence of the outside auditors.
3. The Audit Committee shall require the outside auditors to advise the Audit Committee in advance in the event that the outside auditors intend to provide any professional services to the Company other than services provided in connection with an audit or a review of the Company’s financial statements (“non-audit services”); provided that such non-audit services are not listed in Section 10A (g) of the Exchange Act (“prohibited services”). The Audit Committee shall approve, in advance, any non-audit services to be provided to the Company by the Company’s outside auditing firm.
4. The Audit Committee shall obtain confirmations from time to time from the Company’s outside auditing firm that such firm is not providing to the Company (i) any prohibited services, or (ii) any other non-audit service or any auditing service that has not been approved in advance by the Audit Committee. The Audit Committee shall have the authority to approve the provision of non-audit services that have not been pre-approved by the Audit Committee, but only to the extent that such non-audit services qualify under the de minimis exception set forth in Section 10A (i) (1) (B) of the Exchange Act. The Audit Committee shall record in its minutes and report to the Board all approvals of non-audit services granted by the Audit Committee.
5. The Audit Committee shall meet with the outside auditors, with no management in attendance, to openly discuss the quality of the Company’s accounting principles as applied in its financial reporting, including issues such as (a) the appropriateness, not just the acceptability, of the accounting principles and financial disclosure practices used or proposed to be used by the Company, (b) the clarity of the Company’s financial disclosures and (c) the degree of aggressiveness or conservatism that exists in the Company’s accounting principles and underlying estimates and other significant decisions made by the Company’s management in preparing the Company’s financial disclosures. The Audit Committee shall then meet, without operating management or the outside auditors being present, to discuss the information presented to it.
6. The Audit Committee shall meet with the outside auditors and management to review the Company’s quarterly reports on Form 10-Q and annual report on Form 10-K and discuss any significant adjustments, management judgments and accounting estimates and any significant new accounting policies before such forms are filed with the SEC. The Audit Committee shall require the outside auditors to report to the Audit Committee all critical accounting policies and practices to be used, all alternative treatments of financial information within generally accepted accounting principles that have been discussed with the Company’s management, ramifications of the use of such alternative disclosures and treatments, the treatments preferred by the outside auditors and other material written communications between the outside auditors and the Company’s management, including management’s letters and schedules of unadjusted differences.
7. Upon the completion of the annual audit, the Audit Committee shall review the audit findings reported to it by the outside auditors, including any comments or recommendations of the outside auditors, with the entire Board.
8. The Audit Committee shall review all reports received from the federal and state regulatory authorities and assure that the Board is aware of the findings and results. In addition, it will meet with the appropriate members of senior management designated by the Audit Committee to review the responses to the respective regulatory reports.
9. The Audit Committee shall consider and review with management: (a) significant findings during the year and management’s responses thereto, including the status of previous audit recommendations and (b) any difficulties encountered in the course of their audits, including any restrictions on the scope of activities or access to required information.
10. The Audit Committee shall consider and approve, if appropriate, changes to the Company’s auditing and accounting principles and practices, as suggested by the outside auditors or management, and the Audit Committee shall review with the outside auditors and management the extent to which such changes have been implemented (to be done at an appropriate amount of time prior to the implementation of such changes as decided by the Audit Committee).
11. The Audit Committee shall prepare a letter for inclusion in the Company’s proxy statement describing the discharge of the Audit Committee’s responsibilities.
12. The Audit Committee will review and update this Charter periodically, at least annually, and as conditions may dictate. The Audit Committee Charter shall be presented to the full Board for its approval of any changes.
13. Commencing on such date as Section 102(a) of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 (the “Act”) becomes effective, the Audit Committee shall obtain confirmation from the outside auditors at the commencement of each audit that such firm is a “registered public accounting firm” as such term is defined under the Act.
14. The Audit Committee shall have the authority to engage independent counsel and other advisers as it determines necessary to perform its duties.
15. The Audit Committee shall establish procedures for (i) the receipt, retention and treatment of complaints received by the Company regarding accounting, internal accounting controls or auditing matters and (ii) the confidential, anonymous submission by employees of the Company of concerns regarding questionable accounting or auditing matters.
16. The Audit Committee shall investigate or consider such other matters within the scope of its responsibilities and duties as the Audit Committee may, in its discretion, determine to be advisable.
Effective as of January 20, 2009
The Audit Committee shall assist the Board of Directors (the “Board”) of Asta Funding, Inc. (“Asta”) in fulfilling its oversight responsibility by reviewing the accounting and financial reporting processes of Asta and its subsidiaries (collectively, the “Company”), the Company’s system of internal controls regarding finance, accounting, legal compliance and ethics, and the audits of the Company’s financial statements. In so doing, it is the responsibility of the Audit Committee to maintain free and open means of communications among the Company’s Board of Directors, outside auditors and senior management. The Audit Committee’s primary responsibilities and duties are:
- Serve as an independent and objective party to monitor the Company’s financial reporting process, internal control system and disclosure control system.
- Review and appraise the audit efforts of the Company’s independent accountants.
- Assume direct responsibility for the appointment, compensation, retention and oversight of the work of the outside auditors and for the resolution of disputes between the outside auditors and the Company’s management regarding financial reporting issues.
- Provide an open avenue of communication among the independent accountants, financial and senior management and the Board.
The Audit Committee will primarily fulfill these responsibilities by carrying out the activities identified in Section IV of this Charter.
The Company shall be responsible for providing the Audit Committee with appropriate funding, as determined by the Audit Committee, in order to compensate the outside auditors and advisors engaged by or employed by the Audit Committee.
II. Composition of the Audit Committee
The Audit Committee shall consist of at least three “independent” Directors of Asta and shall serve at the pleasure of the Board. An “independent” Director is defined as an individual who (a) is not an officer or salaried employee or an affiliate of the Company, (b) does not have any relationship that, in the opinion of the Board, would interfere with his or her exercise of independent judgment as an Audit Committee member, (c) meets the independence requirements of the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) and the NASDAQ Stock Market or such other securities exchange or market on which Asta’s securities are traded and (d) except as permitted by the SEC and the NASDAQ Stock Market or such other securities exchange or market on which Asta’s securities are traded, does not accept any consulting, advisory or other compensatory fee from the Company.
At least one member of the Audit Committee shall be a “financial expert” as defined by the SEC and the NASDAQ Stock Market or such other securities exchange or market on which Asta’s securities are traded. Each Audit Committee member must be able to read and understand financial statements, including a balance sheet, income statement, and cash flow statement.
The members of the Audit Committee shall be designated by the full Board from time to time. The Board shall designate one member of the Audit Committee to serve as chairperson of the committee.
III. Meetings and Minutes
The Audit Committee shall meet at least quarterly, with additional meetings if circumstances require, for the purpose of satisfying its responsibilities. The Audit Committee shall maintain minutes of each meeting of the Audit Committee and shall report the actions of the Audit Committee to the Board with such recommendations as the Audit Committee deems appropriate.
IV. Responsibilities and Duties of the Audit Committee
The Audit Committee shall oversee and monitor the Company’s accounting and financial reporting process, internal control system and disclosure control system, review the audits of the Company’s financial statements and review and evaluate the performance of the Company’s outside auditors. In fulfilling these duties and responsibilities, the Audit Committee shall take the following actions, in addition to performing such functions as may be assigned by law, the Company’s certificate of incorporation, the Company’s bylaws or the Board.
1. The Audit Committee shall assume direct responsibility for the appointment, retention and oversight of the work of the outside auditors and, when appropriate, the replacement of the outside auditors. As part of the audit process, the Audit Committee shall meet with the outside auditors to discuss and decide the audit’s scope. The Audit Committee shall determine that the outside audit team engaged to perform the external audit consists of competent, experienced, auditing professionals. The Audit Committee shall also review and approve the compensation to be paid to the outside auditors and shall be authorized to compensate the outside auditors.
2. The Audit Committee shall take, or recommend that the full Board take, appropriate action to ensure the independence of the outside auditors. The Audit Committee shall require the outside auditors to advise the Company of any facts or circumstances that might adversely affect the outside auditors’ independence or judgment with respect to the Company under applicable auditing standards. The Audit Committee shall require the outside auditors to submit, on an annual basis, a formal written statement setting forth all relationships between the outside auditors and the Company that may affect the objectivity and independence of the outside auditors. Such statement shall confirm that the outside auditors are not aware of any conflict of interest prohibited by Section 10A (l) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (the “Exchange Act”). The Audit Committee shall actively engage in a dialogue with the outside auditors with respect to any disclosed relationships or services that may impact the objectivity and independence of the outside auditors.
3. The Audit Committee shall require the outside auditors to advise the Audit Committee in advance in the event that the outside auditors intend to provide any professional services to the Company other than services provided in connection with an audit or a review of the Company’s financial statements (“non-audit services”); provided that such non-audit services are not listed in Section 10A (g) of the Exchange Act (“prohibited services”). The Audit Committee shall approve, in advance, any non-audit services to be provided to the Company by the Company’s outside auditing firm.
4. The Audit Committee shall obtain confirmations from time to time from the Company’s outside auditing firm that such firm is not providing to the Company (i) any prohibited services, or (ii) any other non-audit service or any auditing service that has not been approved in advance by the Audit Committee. The Audit Committee shall have the authority to approve the provision of non-audit services that have not been pre-approved by the Audit Committee, but only to the extent that such non-audit services qualify under the de minimis exception set forth in Section 10A (i) (1) (B) of the Exchange Act. The Audit Committee shall record in its minutes and report to the Board all approvals of non-audit services granted by the Audit Committee.
5. The Audit Committee shall meet with the outside auditors, with no management in attendance, to openly discuss the quality of the Company’s accounting principles as applied in its financial reporting, including issues such as (a) the appropriateness, not just the acceptability, of the accounting principles and financial disclosure practices used or proposed to be used by the Company, (b) the clarity of the Company’s financial disclosures and (c) the degree of aggressiveness or conservatism that exists in the Company’s accounting principles and underlying estimates and other significant decisions made by the Company’s management in preparing the Company’s financial disclosures. The Audit Committee shall then meet, without operating management or the outside auditors being present, to discuss the information presented to it.
6. The Audit Committee shall meet with the outside auditors and management to review the Company’s quarterly reports on Form 10-Q and annual report on Form 10-K and discuss any significant adjustments, management judgments and accounting estimates and any significant new accounting policies before such forms are filed with the SEC. The Audit Committee shall require the outside auditors to report to the Audit Committee all critical accounting policies and practices to be used, all alternative treatments of financial information within generally accepted accounting principles that have been discussed with the Company’s management, ramifications of the use of such alternative disclosures and treatments, the treatments preferred by the outside auditors and other material written communications between the outside auditors and the Company’s management, including management’s letters and schedules of unadjusted differences.
7. Upon the completion of the annual audit, the Audit Committee shall review the audit findings reported to it by the outside auditors, including any comments or recommendations of the outside auditors, with the entire Board.
8. The Audit Committee shall review all reports received from the federal and state regulatory authorities and assure that the Board is aware of the findings and results. In addition, it will meet with the appropriate members of senior management designated by the Audit Committee to review the responses to the respective regulatory reports.
9. The Audit Committee shall consider and review with management: (a) significant findings during the year and management’s responses thereto, including the status of previous audit recommendations and (b) any difficulties encountered in the course of their audits, including any restrictions on the scope of activities or access to required information.
10. The Audit Committee shall consider and approve, if appropriate, changes to the Company’s auditing and accounting principles and practices, as suggested by the outside auditors or management, and the Audit Committee shall review with the outside auditors and management the extent to which such changes have been implemented (to be done at an appropriate amount of time prior to the implementation of such changes as decided by the Audit Committee).
11. The Audit Committee shall prepare a letter for inclusion in the Company’s proxy statement describing the discharge of the Audit Committee’s responsibilities.
12. The Audit Committee will review and update this Charter periodically, at least annually, and as conditions may dictate. The Audit Committee Charter shall be presented to the full Board for its approval of any changes.
13. Commencing on such date as Section 102(a) of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 (the “Act”) becomes effective, the Audit Committee shall obtain confirmation from the outside auditors at the commencement of each audit that such firm is a “registered public accounting firm” as such term is defined under the Act.
14. The Audit Committee shall have the authority to engage independent counsel and other advisers as it determines necessary to perform its duties.
15. The Audit Committee shall establish procedures for (i) the receipt, retention and treatment of complaints received by the Company regarding accounting, internal accounting controls or auditing matters and (ii) the confidential, anonymous submission by employees of the Company of concerns regarding questionable accounting or auditing matters.
16. The Audit Committee shall investigate or consider such other matters within the scope of its responsibilities and duties as the Audit Committee may, in its discretion, determine to be advisable.
Effective as of January 20, 2009