Registration Document
Registration Document
Registration Document
Create successful ePaper yourself
Turn your PDF publications into a flip-book with our unique Google optimized e-Paper software.
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 />
241<br />
01<br />
02<br />
03<br />
04<br />
05<br />
06<br />
07<br />
08<br />
09<br />
10<br />
11<br />
12<br />
13<br />
14