APC 2014 Annual Report Download - page 165

CORPORATE GOVERNANCE
INTERNAL CONTROL AND RISK MANAGEMENT
International internal auditing standards
sale contracts covering up to EUR10million. They may also
delegate to their employees powers to authorize smaller amounts
The Internal Audit Department is committed to complying with the as they consider appropriate.
international standards published by the Institute of Internal In addition, all transactions which by their size or nature could
Auditors (IIA) and other bodies. affect the Group’s fundamental interests, must be authorized in
International Financial Reporting Standards
advance by the board of directors: decisions relating to the
acquisition or disposal of holdings or assets for amounts greater
than two hundred fiftymillion euro, to strategic partnerships, and to
(IFRS)
off-balance sheet commitments.
The consolidated financial statements for all fiscal years
Statutory and management reporting principles
commencing on and after January1, 2005 have been prepared in
accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards
(IFRS), in compliance with European Union regulation An integrated reporting and consolidation system applicable to all
no.1606/2002. Group companies and their management units has been in place
The Group applies IFRSstandards as adopted by the European since January1, 2006. Statutory and management reporting
Union as of December31, 2014. principles and support tools are available on the Group Intranet.
The Group’s accounting principles reflect the underlying The subsidiaries record their transactions in accordance with
assumptions and qualitative characteristics identified in the Group standards. Data are then adjusted, where necessary, to
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IFRSaccounting framework: accrual accounting, business produce the local statutory and tax accounts.
continuity, true and fair view, rule of substance over form, The reporting system includes consistency controls, a comparison
neutrality, completeness, comparability, relevance and intelligibility. of the opening and closing balance sheets and items required to
The Group statutory and management accounting standards analyze management results.
manual explains how IFRSprinciples are applied within the Group,
Key Internal Controls
taking into account the specific characteristics of the Group’s
activities.
The application of Group accounting principles and methods is A list of Key Internal Controls was drawn up in2008 and is
mandatory for all Group units, for management reporting and expanded annually. Its 114 items cover:
statutory consolidation. the control environment (including the Principles of
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The Group statutory and management accounting standards Responsibility, chart of authority, segregation of duties, business
manual and the IFRSprinciples are available on the Intranet. continuity plans and retention of records);
Commitment limits and authorizations
operating processes (purchases, sales, logistics,etc.);
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accounting and financial cycles;
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Human Resources, Information Systems, Legal and Tax cycles.
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Under current management practice, the Group has set The Key Internal Controls are available to all units on the Group
commitment limits for Senior Management of Group companies Intranet and shared depository, along with appendices with more
and delegation and sub-delegation of powers within each detailed information, links to policy descriptions on the Functions’
company that makes up the Group. Intranets, an explanation of the risks covered by each Key Internal
As a result, product or service purchase and sale contracts may Control and a self-assessment guide.
only be signed by, or with the authorization of, operations For each cycle, the Key Internal Controls cover compliance,
managers who have ad hoc authorizations granted by their reliability, risk prevention and management and process
managers. performance. The operating units fill out self-assessment
Within this framework, business segment executives have the questionnaires concerning the Key Internal Controls.
power to authorize the signature of product or service, purchase or
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