Annual report 20108.31 MB - Boskalis

Risk managementRisks with regard to financial reportingStructure of the financial reportingFinancial reporting at Boskalis is structured withina tight framework of budgeting, reporting andforecasting. Reports may be for external or internaluse. External reporting consists of an annualreport, including financial statements audited bythe external auditor, as well as a half-yearly reportcontaining abridged financial information, bothconsolidated and segmented. The external reportsare drawn up in accordance with EU-IFRS on thebasis of the internal financial reporting.Internal financial reporting - or ‘managementreporting’ - consists of extensive consolidatedquarterly reports dealing with actual developmentscompared to quarterly (cumulative) budgets.Quarterly forecasts are also drawn up of the annualresults, cash flows and balance sheet positions atthe end of the financial year. The quarterly budgetsare part of the annual group budget, which is setevery year by the Supervisory Board and the Boardof Management. The internal financial reporting hasa layered structure - in accordance with the internalallocation of management responsibilities - withconsolidation taking place level by level, startingwith the projects, moving on to the business unitsand divisions and ending with group consolidatedreports. Project and contract managers areresponsible for budgets, income statements andbalance sheets for their projects or contracts,which are drawn up in accordance with applicableguidelines and instructions. In turn, business unitmanagers are responsible for the financial reportsof their business units.Part of the equity consists of investments inassociated companies. Boskalis is represented onthe board of those associated companies in whichit holds a significant participating interest, and as aresult has access to (interim) reporting. The figuresof significant holdings are verified by an externalauditor.The Board of Management discusses the quarterlyreports in formal quarterly meetings with therelevant business unit managers. These meetingsare minuted. The consolidated group reports arediscussed with the Supervisory Board every quarter.The structure and quality of the financial accountingand control systems of Boskalis and its groupcompanies are safeguarded by unambiguousand regular internal and external audits. Relevantaspects of the financial accounting and controlsystems are set out in manuals, guidelines andprocedures, all of which are available electronically.Internal audits to monitor and improve quality anddiscipline are conducted on the basis of randomand ad hoc investigations (‘financial audits’) thatalso contain elements of instruction and training.Moreover, the quality of the financial controlsystems is evaluated regularly in the context of theactivities of the external auditors, who report on it.Statement regarding the risks relating tofinancial reportingIn spite of the risk management and controlsystems that Boskalis has put in place, there can beno absolute certainty that mistakes, losses, fraud orunlawful activities will be prevented.The topic of internal risk management and controlhas been discussed with the Supervisory Board.No material changes were introduced in the riskmanagement and internal control systems duringthe course of the year under review. Given thestructure and operation of the financial reportingand control systems at Boskalis, the Board ofManagement is of the opinion that:• the internal risk management and controlsystems provide a reasonable degree ofassurance that the financial reporting does notcontain any errors of material importance; and• the risk management and control systemsworked properly during the year under review.56 Annual Report 2010