AUDIT COMMITTEE CHARTER

Effective Date: February 23, 2021

  1. Overall Purpose/Objectives
    The Audit Committee (the "Committee") of B2Gold Corp. (the "Company") will assist the Board of Directors of the Company (the "Board") in fulfilling its responsibilities. The Committee will assist the Board in the oversight of: (1) the integrity of the Company's financial statements and other periodic public disclosure documents, (2) the Company's compliance with legal and regulatory requirements, (3) the external auditor's qualifications and independence, and (4) the performance and work of the Company's internal audit function and external auditor. The
    Committee will also oversee the financial reporting process, the system of internal control and management of financial risks, the audit process, and the Company's process for monitoring compliance with laws and regulations and its own Code of Business Conduct and Ethics (the "Code") and policies. In performing its duties, the Committee will maintain effective working relationships with the Board, management, and the external auditors and monitor the independence of those auditors. To perform his or her role effectively, each Committee member will obtain an understanding of the responsibilities of Committee membership as well as the Company's business, operations and risks.
    The Committee's function is one of oversight. The fundamental responsibility for the Company's financial statements and disclosure rests with management. It is not the duty of the Committee to plan or conduct audits or to certify that the Company's financial statements are complete and accurate and are in accordance with applicable accounting principles and standards. This is the responsibility of management (with respect to whom the Committee performs an oversight function) and the external auditors.
  2. Authority
    1. The Board authorizes the Committee, within the scope of its responsibilities, to seek and have access to any information, including Company books and records, it requires from any employee and from external parties, to obtain outside legal or professional advice andto ensure the attendance of Company officers at meetings, as the Committee deems appropriate.
    2. The Committee shall receive appropriate funding from the Company, as determined by the Committee, for payment of compensation to the external auditors and to any legal or other advisers employed by the Committee, and for payment of ordinary administrative expenses of the Committee that are necessary or appropriate in carrying out its duties.

Audit Committee Charter

Page 1 of 10

3. Composition, Procedures and Organization

  1. The Committee will be comprised of at least three members of the Board.
  2. Except as permitted by all applicable legal and regulatory requirements:
    1. each member of the Committee shall be "independent" as defined in accordance with Canadian National Instrument 52-110 - Audit Committee, U.S. securities laws and regulations and applicable stock exchange rules;
    2. each member of the Committee will be "financially literate" with the ability to read and understand a set of financial statements that present a breadth and level of complexity of accounting issues that are generally comparable to the breadth and complexity of the issues that can reasonably be expected to be raised by the Company's financial statements. Additionally, at least one member of the Committee shall have accounting or related financial management expertise and be considered an "audit committee financial expert" within the meaning of the rules of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission; and
    3. none of the members of the Committee may have participated in the preparation of the financial statements of the Company or any current subsidiary of the Company during the past three years.
  3. No member of the Committee shall serve on more than two audit committees of publicly traded companies, other than the Company, at the same time such member serves on this Committee, unless the Board determines that such simultaneous service would not impairthe ability of such member to effectively serve on this Committee. Such a determination shall be disclosed by the Company in the manner required by applicable laws, regulationsand listing standards.
  4. The Board, at its organizational meeting held in conjunction with each annual general meeting of the shareholders, will appoint a Chair and the other members of the Committee for the ensuing year. The Board may at any time remove or replace any member of the Committee and may fill any vacancy in the Committee.
  5. The Secretary of the Committee shall be elected by its members, or shall be the Secretary, or the Assistant or Associate Secretary, of the Company or any other individual appointed by the Committee.
  6. A member shall cease to be a member of the Committee upon ceasing to be a director of the Company.
  7. Meetings shall be held not less than quarterly. Special meetings shall be convened as required. External auditors may convene a meeting if they consider that it is necessary.

Audit Committee Charter

Page 2 of 10

  1. The times and places where meetings of the Committee shall be held and the procedures at such meetings shall be as determined, from time to time, by the Committee.
  2. Notice of each meeting of the Committee shall be given to each member of the Committee. Subject to the following, notice of a meeting shall be given orally or by letter, electronic mail, telephone facsimile transmission or telephone not less than 48 hours before the time fixed for the meeting. Notice of regular meetings need state only the day of the week or month, the place and the hour at which such meetings will be held and need not be given for each meeting. Members may waive notice of any meeting.
  3. The Committee will invite the external auditors, management and such other persons toits meetings as it deems appropriate. However, any such invited persons may not vote at any meetings of the Committee.
  4. The Committee will have an in camera session without the presence of management at each meeting (unless such members of the Committee present determine that such a session is not required).
  5. A meeting of the Committee may be held by means of such telephonic, electronic orother communications facilities as permit all persons participating in the meeting to communicate adequately with each other during the meeting.
  6. The majority of the Committee shall constitute a quorum for the purposes of conducting the business of the Committee. Notwithstanding any vacancy on the Committee, a quorum may exercise all of the powers of the Committee.
  7. Any decision made by the Committee shall be determined by a majority vote of the members of the Committee present or by consent resolution in writing signed by each member of the Committee. A member will be deemed to have consented to any resolution passed or action taken at a meeting of the Committee unless the member votes against such resolution or dissents.
  8. A record of the minutes of, and the attendance at, each meeting of the Committee shall be kept. The approved minutes of the Committee shall be circulated to the Board forthwith.
  9. The Committee shall report to the Board on all proceedings and deliberations of the Committee at the first subsequent meeting of the Board, or at such other times and in such manner as the Board or the articles of the Company may require or as the Committee in its discretion may consider advisable.
  10. The Committee will have access to such officers and employees of the Company and to such information respecting the Company, as it considers to be necessary or advisable in order to perform its duties and responsibilities.

Audit Committee Charter

3 of 10

  1. The internal accounting and compliance staff, any external accounting consultant(s) and the external auditors of the Company will have a direct line of communication to the Committee and may bypass management if deemed necessary. The external auditors willreport directly to the Committee.

4. Roles and Responsibilities

The roles and responsibilities of the Committee are as follows:

  1. Oversee the accounting and financial reporting processes of the Company and the audits of the financial statements of the Company.
  2. Review with management its philosophy with respect to controlling corporate assets and information systems, the staffing of key functions and its plans for enhancements.
  3. Review the terms of reference and effectiveness of the Company's internal audit function, and the working relationship between internal financial personnel and the external auditor, understanding that the purpose of the internal audit function is to provide management and the Committee with ongoing assessments of the Company's risk management processes and system of internal control.
  4. Gain an understanding of the current areas of greatest financial risk and whether management is managing these effectively.
  5. Review significant accounting and reporting issues, including recent professional and regulatory pronouncements, and understand their impact on the financial statements, reviewing with management and the external auditor where appropriate.
  6. Review any legal matters which could significantly impact the financial statements as reported on by the General Counsel and meet with outside counsel whenever deemed appropriate.
  7. Review and discuss the annual financial statements and annual management's discussion and analysis, and the results of the audit with management and the external auditors prior to the submission to the Board for approval and release or distribution of such statements, and obtain an explanation from management of all significant variances between comparative reporting periods. Such review must occur at a meeting, and not merely by polling or written consent.
  8. Review and discuss the interim financial statements and interim management's discussion and analysis with management and the external auditors prior to the submission to the Board for approval and release or distribution of such statements, and obtain an explanation from management of all significant variances between comparative reporting periods. Such review must occur at a meeting, and not merely by polling or written consent.

Audit Committee Charter

4 of 10

Prior to their submission to the Board and public release, review and discuss all public disclosure concerning audited or unaudited financial information where such disclosures are required to be approved by the Board (including, without limitation, annual financial statements, interim financial statements, annual or interim management's discussion and analysis, any annual or interim earnings press release, as well as financial information and earnings guidance provided to analysts, any financial outlook or future- oriented financial information, and financial information contained in any prospectus, private placement offering document, annual report, annual information form or takeover bid circular) and approve such disclosures for recommendation to the Board.

  1. Prepare any reports of the Committee that are required by applicable laws, regulations or stock exchange rules.
  2. Review disclosures made to the Committee by the Chief Executive Officer and the Chief Financial Officer during their certification process for any statutory documents about any significant deficiencies in the design or operation of internal controls or material weakness therein and any fraud involving management or other employees who have a significant role in internal controls.
  3. Assess the fairness of the financial statements and disclosures, and obtain explanations from management on whether:
    1. actual financial results for the financial period varied significantly from budgeted or projected results;
    2. generally accepted accounting principles have been consistently applied;
    3. there are any actual or proposed changes in accounting or financial reporting practices; and
    4. there are any significant, complex and/or unusual events or transactions such as related party transactions or those involving derivative instruments and consider the adequacy of disclosure thereof.
  4. Determine whether the auditors are satisfied that the financial statements have been prepared in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles.
  5. Focus on judgmental areas, for example those involving valuation of assets and liabilities and other commitments and contingencies.
  6. Review audit issues related to the Company's material associated and affiliated companies that may have a significant impact on the Company's equity investment.

Audit Committee Charter

5 of 10

This is an excerpt of the original content. To continue reading it, access the original document here.

Attachments

  • Original document
  • Permalink

Disclaimer

B2Gold Corp. published this content on 19 May 2021 and is solely responsible for the information contained therein. Distributed by Public, unedited and unaltered, on 19 May 2021 01:05:04 UTC.