2005 Annual report - Virbac

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the recognition of transactions in line with Group rules and
compliance with local regulations. As part of the transition
to the IFRS, these procedures were reviewed, requiring a high
level of transparency for operational managers to better
assess the accounting and financial treatment of
transactions.
❖ Financial controlling
The reorganisation of the Financial control unit decided at
the end of 2004 was gradually implemented in 2005. The
Financial control unit is primarily responsible for measuring
corporate performance, but must also provide real support
to the businesses and zones, providing them the appropriate
analysis tools and methods. In this regard, it is a true
conduit between the Group’s operational and financial
departments.
The Financial control unit also drives the consolidation and
monthly budget tracking process on the basis of information
provided by the various Group departments and
subsidiaries. It reviews the quality of the information
received by accounting reconciliations and analyses the
consistency of the data.
For the preparation of the financial items, the Financial
control unit has recourse to the Group’s rules set out in a
reporting manual applicable to all subsidiaries; this manual
sets out the principles and definitions of the line items in the
financial statements and is designed to ensure that the same
rules are applied across all Group subsidiaries.
An operational review of the undertaking and planning
processes was carried out at the Carros site towards the end
of 2005. This review resulted in operational management
levels being redefined and a new procedure drafted to
monitor undertakings, which will be aided by the
implementation of a tracking software that will enable the
full atomisation of the process.
❖ Treasury management
All treasury operational directives and procedures were
reviewed and their conversion into “Best practices”
applicable across the Group completed and sent out to all
Group subsidiaries in 2005.
A process for putting in place an annual treasury plan was
also implemented across the Group and makes it possible to
control and consolidate the forecasting of cash movements
of subsidiaries, a sign of the accuracy of sales and expense
forecasts and customer collection policy.
A policy of pooling excess cash and financing requirements
in the Europe zone means that the Group’s net positions can
be reduced and the management of its deposits or
financings optimised.
The following processes, designed to support the Group’s
operational processes, also help to improve the quality and
the reliability of the preparation and processing of
accounting and financial information.
❖ Information systems
The IS Department is implementing the six-year strategy
drawn up at the end of 2003: the policy of providing services
on the basis of specific needs is moving towards a policy of
first and foremost providing a standardised offering across
all products and services. In this regard the Movex ERP was
successfully implemented in 2005 in Korea and Japan, and
this software will be progressively rolled out to all Group
subsidiaries.
This organisation requires the systematic controlling of all
Group IS investments and a right to examine local
recruitment and team selection.
The formalisation and documenting of operating procedures
is ongoing.
❖ Purchasing
Following on from the initiative undertaken by Virbac in
2003, the process covers more and more activities and types
of goods and services purchased. It is based on certain
operating and financial procedures such as the Investment
procedure and the Group purchasing procedure, reworked
as “Best practices” to improve application within all Group
subsidiaries.
In addition to covering all purchasing, the goal is also to
prevent the inherent risks to which the Group may be
exposed (bankruptcy of a supplier, cut in supply...).
❖ Human resources management
Under the initiative of the new head of the Human resources
department, a HR strategy was drawn up and presented to
Group employees in 2005.
This strategy has a few clear goals:
◆ train and motivate managers to become true leaders and
play their part in managing their teams,
◆ make managers party to changing and developing their
colleagues,
◆ build efficient organisations that are customer centric
and based on the motivation and strong management
of personnel,
◆ strengthen corporate values via concrete actions and
increasingly internationally: Innovation, Market driven,
Entrepreneurship, Empowerment, Teamwork,
◆ encourage geographic and functional mobility,
◆ develop a style and culture that are open to constructive
criticism in order to encourage innovation and efficiency.