2007 Interactive Registration Document - Renault

PROCEDURES AND OPERATING METHODS
The multi-year plan introduced in 2004 to provide line managers with a standard
set of procedures, including a standard set of management procedures,
operating rules and directives, was continued in 2007 through the following
courses of action:
Consolidating management standards
In 2007 a range of management standards applicable to all Group entities was
prepared for specifi c areas:
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project cost control, with the setting-up of a global engineering system;
marketing, through standardized operating methods;
fi nancial control in subsidiaries.
Standards were also applied to cross-functional processes:
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Group-wide management principles and rules (collated in an economic and
fi nancial handbook);
decision-making principles and rules.
Disseminating management-related information
within the Group
The action plans set in motion through the company’s Business-to-Employees
(B-to-E) program were pursued in 2007. The aim was to disseminate the full
range of management-related information to all Group entities through the
management function’s intranet portal:
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a single portal now provides access to all management information, whether
activity-specifi c or cross-functional and cross-Group;
signifi cant action was taken to make management literature easier to use
and more relevant for line managers; formats have been simplifi ed and
harmonized, communication (via newsletters) has been intensifi ed for the
launch of new standards, and the international reach of the portal has been
extended.
In addition, the Group’s Accounting Division, with its Accounting Standards
and Policies department, is empowered to ensure that applicable accounting
policies are properly applied. Division personnel directly involved in preparing
accounting and fi nancial disclosures have access to all the information they
need to carry out their duties.
In 2007, the framework and Group procedures for Sales Financing were
incorporated in a new tool, along with procedures from the French subsidiary
Diac. In 2008, this new tool will be rolled out across the other subsidiaries
in the RCI Banque group. Special procedures are in place for the main RCI
Banque processes, e.g. acceptance, collection/disputes, refi nancing, system
security, physical asset security, risk monitoring, and accounting. Based on the
principle of segregated powers, these procedures rely on a system of review
and approval. They ensure that decisions are taken at the appropriate level and
are properly implemented. As regards the accounting process, the number and
duration of Group audit assignments at subsidiaries increased in 2007, and
most subsidiaries in the RCI Banque group were audited.
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CORPORATE GOVERNANCE 04
REPORT OF THE CHAIRMAN OF THE BOARD PURSUANT TO ARTICLE L. 225-37 OF THE COMMERCIAL CODE
4.5.2.4 RISK MANAGEMENT
Renault has elected to apply a risk control method based on identifying and
mapping all types of risk and in preparing action plans to eliminate, prevent,
protect against or transfer those risks. The Risk Management Department,
supported by a network of experts, acquires a broad vision of risks, ensures
coordination and exchange of good practices, and deploys the risk mapping
method across Group entities.
The Group Executive Committee and Accounts and Audit Committee periodically
review action plan progress. Risk committees are being established gradually
within operating entities to closely monitor execution of these action plans.
The Group’s major risks are tracked closely and continuously. Major risks are
those related to the Group’s international expansion, product dependability and
quality, supplier risk, production and environmental risk, information systems
risk, and fi nancial risk. Provisions are set out in c hapter 2.3 of the Registration
Document.
4.5.2.5 INFORMATION SYSTEMS
The Renault group has adopted a widely-recognized off-the-peg Enterprise
Resource Planning (ERP) application to replace its auxiliary accounting systems.
This highly structured software, gradually being installed in all consolidated
entities, allows the Group to apply its own internal control approach and to
ensure that processed information is both reliable and consistent. Precisely
defi ned and monitored make it possible to comply with task-separation rules.
For each major business line, this system is supplemented by management
systems and relational, multidimensional databases populated directly with
information from the operational and accounting systems. These standard
systems are being implemented worldwide to harmonize and strengthen
management of the Group’s global activities.
Control of individual transactions processed by operational systems, which
exercise the fi rst level of control, is key to ensuring reliable accounting and
financial information. The operational systems feed data to the auxiliary
accounting systems via a large number of complex, non-periodic interfaces.
These interfaces are constantly monitored to ensure they immediately capture
all economic events for each process and then centralize and send these
data regularly to the accounting system. The fi nancial and accounting teams
carefully control transfers between non-integrated operational systems and
accounting systems.
Furthermore, the accounting teams have developed a process in collaboration
with IT personnel to protect the ERP application in the event of a major
malfunction. A business continuity plan was introduced at central level and
applied in subsidiaries that use this application.
✦ Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) Directives Registration Document Renault 2007 151
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