APC 2013 Annual Report Download - page 165

CORPORATE GOVERNANCE
INTERNAL CONTROL AND RISK MANAGEMENT
Insider code of ethics
As a result, product or service purchase and sale contracts may
only be signed by, or with the authorization of, operations
This code sets out the rules to be followed by management and managers who have ad hoc authorizations granted by their
employees to prevent insider trading. It imposes an obligation of managers.
confidentiality on all employees who have access to confidential Within this framework, business segment executives have the
information and sets permanent restrictions on purchases and power to authorize the signature of product or service, purchase or
sales of Schneider ElectricSA shares by persons who have access sale contracts covering up to EUR10million. They may also
to price-sensitive information in the course of their work (see delegate to their employees powers to authorize smaller amounts
“Organizational and operating procedures of the board of as they consider appropriate.
directors”, Chapter3 Section2).
In addition, all transactions which by their size or nature could
International internal auditing standards
affect the Group’s fundamental interests, must be authorized in
advance by the board of directors: decisions relating to the
acquisition or disposal of holdings or assets for amounts greater
The internal audit department is committed to complying with the than two hundred fiftymillion euro, to strategic partnerships, and to
international standards published by the Institute of Internal off-balance sheet commitments.
Auditors (IIA) and other bodies.
Statutory and management reporting principles
International Financial Reporting Standards
(IFRS) 3
An integrated reporting and consolidation system applicable to all
Group companies and their management units has been in place
The consolidated financial statements for all fiscal years since January1, 2006. Statutory and management reporting
commencing on and after January1, 2005 have been prepared in principles and support tools are available on the Group Intranet.
accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards The subsidiaries record their transactions in accordance with
(IFRS), in compliance with European Union regulation Group standards. Data are then adjusted, where necessary, to
no.1606/2002. produce the local statutory and tax accounts.
The Group applies IFRSstandards as adopted by the European The reporting system includes consistency controls, a comparison
Union as of December31, 2013. of the opening and closing balance sheets and items required to
The Group’s accounting principles reflect the underlying analyze management results.
assumptions and qualitative characteristics identified in the
Key Internal Controls
IFRSaccounting framework: accrual accounting, business
continuity, true and fair view, rule of substance over form,
neutrality, prudence, completeness, comparability, relevance and
A list of Key Internal Controls was drawn up in2008 and is
intelligibility.
expanded annually. Its 116 items cover:
The Group statutory and management accounting standards
the control environment (including the Principles of
l
manual explains how IFRSprinciples are applied within the Group,
Responsibility, delegation of powers, separation of functions,
taking into account the specific characteristics of the Group’s
business continuity plans and retention of records);
activities.
operating processes (purchases, sales, inventories,etc.);
l
The application of Group accounting principles and methods is
mandatory for all Group units, for management reporting and accounting and financial cycles;
l
statutory consolidation. Human Resources, Information Systems, Legal and Tax cycles.
l
The Group statutory and management accounting standards The Key Internal Controls are available to all units on the Group
manual and the IFRSprinciples are available on the Intranet. Intranet, along with appendices with more detailed information,
links to full policy descriptions on the Functions’ Intranets, an
Commitment limits and authorizations
explanation of the risks covered by each Key Internal Control and a
self-assessment guide.
Under current management practice, the Group has set For each cycle, the Key Internal Controls cover compliance,
commitment limits for Senior Management of Group companies reliability, risk prevention and management and process
and delegation and sub-delegation of powers within each performance. The operating units fill out self-assessment
company that makes up the Group. questionnaires concerning the Key Internal Controls.
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