BMW 2009 Annual Report Download - page 71

69 Group Management Report
aimed at creating and retaining a motivated workforce in
the long term:
(1) the creation of a working environment for the future,
(2) promotion and maintenance of the workforce’s ability to
perform with the appropriate set of skills,
(3) appropriate qualifications,
(4) increasing employees’ awareness of their responsibility
to make personal provisions for their future and
(5) individual employee working life-time models.
Risks relating to pension obligations
The BMW Group’s pension obligations to its employees
resulting from defined benefit plans are measured on the
basis of actuarial reports. In accordance with IAS 19, future
pension payments are discounted by reference to market
yields on high-quality corporate bonds. These yields are
subject to market fluctuation and influence the level of pen-
sion obligations. Furthermore, changes in other factors,
such as rising inflation rates and longer life expectancies,
also have an impact on pension obligations. In the United
Kingdom, the USA and a number of other countries, funds
intended to cover the
pension benefits of our employees
are held in pension
funds which are kept separate from
corporate assets and invested in fixed-income securities
(with a high level of creditworthiness), equities, property
and other investment classes. In 2009, a further part of
the pension obligations arising in Germany has been ex-
ternalised by transferring assets to the external fund, BMW
Trust e. V. The process of externalising pension obligations
will be continued in the future.
Risk indicators (e. g. value-at-risk) are regularly computed
in order to identify risks at an early stage and used to
de-
velop measures to mitigate risk. Risks affecting pension
funds are monitored continuously and managed from a
risk and yield perspective. Regular asset-liability studies
are performed and used to match the maturities of inter-
est-generating investments with future pension payments,
thereby reducing the interest rate risk relating to pensions.
Investments are broadly spread in order to reduce risk. In
addition, risk limits for investment activities have been
defined for each pension fund and are monitored contin-
uously.
Information and IT risks
We attach great importance to the protection of data, busi-
ness secrets and innovative development to safeguard
against unauthorised access, damage and misuse. The
protection of information and data is an integral compo-
nent of our business processes and based on International
Security Standard ISO / IEC 27001. Staff, process design
and information technology each play a role in the overall
security concept. The requirement to apply uniform stand-
ards across the Group is embedded in our core principles
and documented in detailed working instructions which
require employees to handle information appropriately and
ensure that information
systems are properly used. Pur-
poseful communication and training measures create a
high degree of security awareness on the part of the em-
ployees involved. Employees also receive training from the
Group’s Compliance Organisation to ensure compliance
with legal and regulatory requirements.
The technical data protection procedures we use primarily
involve process-specific security measures. Standard
activities such as virus scanners, firewall systems, access
controls at both operating system and application level,
internal testing procedures and the regular backing up of
data are also employed. A security network is in place
groupwide to ensure compliance with security specifica-
tions. Regular analyses and rigorous security management
ensure high-quality protection. This includes the activities
of our Security Operations Center, which is responsible for
the security of internal network communications. Protecting
BMW Group-specific know-how is also treated as a major
issue as far as cooperation arrangements and relationships
with partner companies are concerned. We protect our
intellectual property by stipulating clear instructions with
regard to data protection and the use of information tech-
nology. Information underlying key areas of expertise is
subject to particularly stringent security measures.