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proposal would require the company to limit to 25% the non-audit fees
currently earned by the auditor. If shareholders approve the proposal,
they'll be saying they want auditors to earn the majority of their fees
from auditing, not consulting and other non-audit work.
The companies say to implement the proposal would cost money. What's
more, they say investors should trust the audit committee and board
of directors to verify auditor independence. Given the events of the
last year, is simple trust enough?
The auditor independence resolution offers investors the opportunity
to protect the reliability and integrity of the financial statements.
High non-audit fees paid to the auditor represent an inherent conflict
of interest. Removing this conflict of interest is essential if investors
are to regain confidence in the markets.
See Issue Analysis
for More Information
Please call (800) 223-7010 for a prospectus that
contains complete details of fees and expenses and should be read carefully
before investing. As of September 30, 2002, Microsoft Corporation represented
4.88% of the Citizens Core Growth Fund, 2.48% of the Citizens Global
Equity Fund, and 2.28% of the Citizens Value Fund; Cisco Systems, Inc.
represented 2.10% of the Citizens Core Growth Fund, 3.42% of the Citizens
Value Fund, and 0.77% of the Citizens Global Equity Fund. Distributed
by Citizens Securities, Inc., Portsmouth, N.H.
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