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P ◀ CONTENTS ▶<br />

Executive Committee, and then to the Chairman<br />

of the Board of Directors. In addition, Quarterly<br />

Reviews with each of the Group’s business units<br />

give the Group’s Chief Executive Officer and Chief<br />

Financial Officer insight into performance trends for<br />

the business unit or subsidiary based on the financial<br />

reporting and operational information.<br />

Procedures are in place to identify off balance<br />

sheet commitments. This term covers all rights and<br />

obligations that may have an immediate or future<br />

impact on Sodexo’s financial position but are not<br />

recognized (or are only partially recognized) in the<br />

balance sheet or income statement. These include<br />

items such as assets pledged as security; guarantees<br />

relating to operating contracts (for example bid bonds<br />

or performance bonds), to borrowings, or to claims<br />

and litigation; lease obligations not recognized in<br />

the balance sheet; and commitments under call or<br />

put options, etc.<br />

Procedures for identifying these commitments<br />

include:<br />

• periodic reviews of the minutes of the Annual<br />

Shareholders’ Meeting and meetings of the<br />

Board of Directors of the subsidiary for follow<br />

up on contractual commitments, litigation and<br />

authorizations for and disposals of assets;<br />

• reviews with risk management executives and<br />

insurance company agent and brokers with whom<br />

the subsidiary has contracted insurance to cover<br />

risks related to its conditional obligations;<br />

• reviews with banks and financial institutions of<br />

sureties and guarantees;<br />

• reviews with internal and external legal counsel<br />

of litigation and legal procedure, as well as the<br />

measurement of any related liabilities;<br />

• examination of transactions with related parties<br />

concerning guaranties and other commitments<br />

made or received.<br />

The Group Legal Department (which is part of the<br />

Group Finance Department) and legal teams at local<br />

levels are required to work pro-actively with the<br />

operational teams, and oversee compliance with<br />

legal requirements. They also ensure that contractual<br />

negotiations are handled in a balanced manner, and<br />

Corporate Governance 10<br />

Chairman’s Report on the Operating Procedures of the Board of Directors<br />

and on Internal Control and Risk Management Procedures<br />

that risks pertain solely to contractual obligations<br />

for services and are limited in value and duration.<br />

The Group Risk Management and Insurance<br />

Department works closely with the relevant<br />

executives in the subsidiaries to:<br />

• put in place insurance coverage to protect the<br />

interests of the Group;<br />

• identify and evaluate the key risk exposures<br />

faced by Sodexo, with particular attention to the<br />

emergence of new risk factors associated with<br />

changes in our activities, especially in Facilities<br />

Management;<br />

• reduce contractual risk, in particular by means<br />

of limitation of liability clauses or hold-harmless<br />

agreements; and<br />

• achieve the appropriate balance between risk<br />

retention (self-insurance) and the insurance<br />

market in covering the potential financial<br />

consequences of Sodexo’s risk exposure.<br />

Lastly, using the financial information reported and<br />

consolidated, the Chief Executive Officer, assisted by<br />

the Group Finance Department, prepares the Group’s<br />

financial communication. The Chief Executive<br />

Officer also relies on the operating data required to<br />

prepare the <strong>Registration</strong> <strong>Document</strong>. Press releases<br />

announcing the interim and annual results are<br />

submitted to the Board of Directors for approval.<br />

To enable the Chief Executive Officer to provide<br />

reliable information on the Group’s financial<br />

situation, a Disclosure Committee comprising<br />

representatives from Group corporate functions<br />

reviews all financial information prior to publication.<br />

Members include the managers responsible for<br />

Consolidation, Financial Control, Accounting<br />

Methods, Financial Communications, Legal, Human<br />

Resources and Communications.<br />

3.7 Group Internal Audit Department<br />

The Senior Vice President and Director of Internal<br />

Audit reports directly to the Chairman of the Board,<br />

thus ensuring Group Internal Audit’s independence<br />

within the organization. The Internal Audit Director<br />

and the Chairman of the Board meet on a monthly<br />

Sodexo <strong>Registration</strong> <strong>Document</strong> Fiscal 2011<br />

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