BMW 2002 Annual Report Download - page 42

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6. Financial Reporting and Audit
6.1 Financial Reporting
Shareholders and third parties are mainly informed
by the Consolidated Financial Statements. During
the financial year, information is provided in the form
of interim reports. The group financial statements
and interim reports are drawn up in accordance
with internationally accepted accounting principles.
For corporate law purposes (calculation of dividend,
shareholder protection), Annual Financial Statements
are drawn up in accordance with national regulations
(German Commercial Code) which also form the
basis for taxation.
The Consolidated Financial Statements are
drawn up by the Board of Management and
exam-
ined by the group auditor and the Supervisory Board .
The Consolidated Financial Statements are made
publicly accessible within 90 days of the end of the
financial year; interim reports are made publicly
accessible within 45 days of the end of the reporting
period.
BMW AG publishes a list of companies in which
it has a shareholding that are not of minor impor-
tance to the group. The list includes the name and
registered office of each company, the amount
of shareholding, the amount of equity and the net
profit/loss for the past financial year.
Details of relationships with shareholders con-
sidered to be related parties pursuant to the applica-
ble accounting regulations are provided in the Con-
solidated Financial Statements.
6.2 Audit
Prior to submitting a proposal for election, the Super-
visory Board or the Audit Committee (Bilanzaus-
schuss) will obtain a statement from the proposed
auditor stating whether there are any professional,
financial and other relationships between the auditor,
its executive bodies and its employees on the one
hand, and the BMW Group and members of its exec-
utive bodies on the other hand, that could call its
independence into question. The Supervisory Board
is also responsible for ensuring that this statement
also includes the extent to which other services were
performed by the auditor for the BMW Group during
the past year, in particular in the field of consultancy,
or which are contracted for the following year.
The Supervisory Board arranges for the auditor
to inform the Chairman of the Supervisory Board
resp. of the Audit Committee (Bilanzausschuss)
immediately of any grounds for disqualification or
impartiality arising during the audit, unless such
grounds are eliminated.
The Supervisory Board commissions the auditor
to carry out the audit, concludes a fee agreement
and arranges for the auditor to report without delay
on all facts and events arising during the perform-
ance of the audit which are relevant to the tasks of
the Supervisory Board.
The Supervisory Board arranges for the auditor
to inform it and/or include details in the auditors
long-form report of facts which come to light during
the audit, which could entail the Board of Manage-
ment and Supervisory Board making an incorrect
assertion in their statement on the German Corpo-
rate Governance Code.
The auditor takes part in the Supervisory Boards
deliberations on the Annual Financial Statements
and Consolidated Financial Statements and reports
on the essential results of its audit.
Munich, 3 December 2002
Bayerische Motoren Werke
Aktiengesellschaft
The Supervisory Board The Board of Management