Independent audits of conflict minerals reports

Abstract

There has been an increasing international focus on "conflict minerals," which are sourced from mines in Central Africa and believed to benefit armed groups that engage in serious human rights abuses. In August 2012, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC 2012) issued a final rule (Release No. 34-67716) related to implementing new disclosures required by the Dodd-Frank Act that are aimed at dissuading publicly-traded companies from engaging in trade that supports conflict minerals. Beginning in 2014, many publicly traded companies will be required to issue Conflict Minerals Reports, and have the reports independently assured. For the first time, there is an SEC audit requirement for corporate social responsibility information. Significant uncertainty surrounds the nature of the requisite audit procedures and the form and content of the audit reports themselves. For example, issuers have the option of engaging auditors for either an attestation engagement or a performance audit. We summarize the SEC's final rule, with particular focus on the audit requirement, and discuss some challenges that audit firms face.