La banque d'un monde qui change 2004 - BNP Paribas

the impact on the 2004 accounts of switchingto the new accounting standards. Detailedquantitative data concerning this impact,as well as results for the year ended 31 December2004 prepared in accordance with IFRS will bepresented to the market on 24 March 2005.The central Management Control Departmentdraws up management control rules that applyto all the Group’s business lines.The Group’s accounting policies and managementcontrol rules can be accessed in real time viathe Group Intranet.Procedures for preparingconsolidated financial dataThe information used to prepare the BNP ParibasGroup consolidated financial statementsis derived from the Bank’s transaction processingsystems and two separate reporting channels,one dedicated to accounting data and the otherto management data. The reporting processis as follows:• Accounting data: accounting informationis reported directly from each entity tothe accounting department within the GroupFinance-Development function. This departmentprepares the accounts of BNP Paribas SA andthe Group’s consolidated financial statementsbased on the accounting information reportedto it by the other entities.• Management data: management informationis reported by each entity and business lineto the Finance function of the relevant corebusiness, which then reports consolidated datafor the core business to the Management Controlunit within the Group Finance-Developmentfunction.For each entity and core business, a reconciliationbetween accounting data and management datais performed for the main income statement lines.This is supplemented by an overall reconciliationperformed by the Group Finance-Developmentfunction to ensure consistency betweenconsolidated accounting profits and managementreporting profits. These two reconciliationsform part of the procedure for ensuringreliable accounting and management data.Internal certification processThe Group has introduced a process of internalcertification of quarterly data producedby entities falling within the scopeof consolidation. The heads of Financeof the entities concerned certify:• that the accounting data reported to the GroupFinance-Development function are reliableand comply with Group accounting policies;• that the accounting internal control systemdesigned to ensure the quality of accountingdata is operating effectively.This procedure is based on the Group’s accountinginternal control system, which is adapted to eachentity, as well as on an internal assessment carriedout at least once a quarter in order to ensurethat the system is being correctly implementedby the participants concerned. Accounting risksidentified by accounting internal controls duringthe internal certification process are specificallymonitored and, where appropriate, adequatelyprovided for.A report on this procedure is sent to the FinancialStatements Committee at the close of the Group’sconsolidated accounts.Periodic controls –formation of an accounting inspection teamControls are performed by the General Inspectionunit as well as by the Internal Audit departmentsof each core business, entity and function.With a view to further strengthening these controlprocedures, an accounting inspection teamwas set up in 2004 tasked with performingspecific audits on accounting proceduresand cross-functional accounting issueswithin the Group.This team reports both to Group Finance-Development and the General Inspection unit.