Recent experience also highlights the potential benefits of the board's audit committee meeting with external auditors without management and aggressively seeking assurances that risks associated with off-balance-sheet and special purpose entities are clearly represented. Stimulated by recent events, a sea change is occurring and investors, creditors, ratings agencies, and regulators expect far more transparency than was expected even one year ago.
This was despite retreating oil and commodity prices, government action in support of the US housing market and continued recapitalisation efforts by banks and other financial firms. Equity markets reflected similar concerns, as valuations adjusted to reflect disappointing earnings data, including in the financial and other cyclical sectors.