On February 26, 2020, Univ.-Prof. Mag. Dr. Eva Eberhartinger, LL.M., o. Univ.-Prof. Dr. Romuald Bertl and Univ.-Prof. MMag. Dr. Klaus Hirschler hosted the first event of the series "Audit Committee Special" at the Vienna University of Economics and Business Administration. As a supplement to the already established Austrian Supervisory Board Day, the workshop for (future) audit committee members was held on the overall topic of " Examining the independence of the auditor".
 
After the introductory remarks by o. Univ.-Prof. Dr. Romuald Bertl, Univ.-Prof. Dr. Ewald Aschauer (JKU Linz) presented the Audit Committee from a scientific point of view and gave an overview of relevant research results. Afterwards, Peter Hofbauer (Speaker of the Board of APAB) held a brief keynote speech on the role of the audit committee and pitfalls for audit committee members in practice. The subsequent keynote speeches by Univ.-Prof. Mag. Dr. Eva Eberhartinger, LL.M. and Univ.-Prof. MMag. Dr. Klaus Hirschler, focused on non-audit services of the auditor. At the centre of the following discussion was, among other things, the approval of non-audit services (the so-called pre-approval procedure).
 
The evening was rounded off with discussions and refreshments at the buffet.