Download Annual Report 2006 - Foskor

• supporting business sustainability under normalas well as adverse operating conditions;• the reliability of reporting; and• behaving responsibly towards all stakeholders.In accordance with recommended corporategovernance practice, it is the policy of Foskor (Pty)Limited to maintain a centralised independentinternal audit function, titled Foskor Group AuditServices (FGAS).The role of this function is to assist the BoardAudit & Risk Committee of the Board of Directors,as well as management personnel at all levels,in the effective exercise of their responsibilitiesthrough the provision of analyses, appraisals,recommendations, counsel, and informationconcerning the activities reviewed, and bypromoting effective control at reasonable cost.The internal audit function is thus responsible forproviding independent assurance to the BoardAudit & Risk Committee regarding the effectivemanagement of all risks, which may impact theachievement of the business objectives.The scope of the work of FGAS is to determinewhether Foskor’s network of risk management,control and governance processes, as designedand represented, is adequate and functioning in amanner to ensure:• Risks are appropriately identified andmanaged.• Interaction with the various governance groupswithin the company occurs as appropriate.• Significant financial, managerial and operatinginformation is accurate, reliable and timely.• Employee’s actions are in compliance withpolicies, standards, procedures and applicablelaws and regulations.• Resources are acquired economically, usedeffectively, and adequately protected.• Programmes, plans and objectives areachieved.• Quality and continuous improvement arefostered in the organisation control process.• Significant legislative or regulatory issuesimpacting on the company are recognised andaddressed appropriately.Based on its assessment, as well as internal andexternal audit, the Group believes that, as at 31March 2006, its system of internal control metthe criteria for effective internal control.CODE OF ETHICSFoskor (Pty) Ltd is committed to organisationalintegrity and sound business ethics as set out inthe codes of corporate governance best practices.Foskor (Pty) Ltd has adopted a Code of Ethics,which incorporates the Group’s operating, financialand behavioural policies in a set of integratedvalues and standards required of employees intheir interaction with one and another and withall stakeholders. The code is distributed to allemployees of the Group.An ethics hotline facility exists to enable staffto report unethical behaviour anonymously. Thishotline is the responsibility of FGAS, whichensures that all unethical behaviour is adequatelyinvestigated and feedback is provided timeously tothe business. A comprehensive fraud report is alsoprovided to the Board Audit & Risk Committee forreview and approval.In the new financial year, Foskor intends:• Measuring the ethical climate within the Groupby means of an integrity thermometer;• Revising and consolidating the existing Ethicspolicy, Code of Ethics and related material;and• Launching and rolling out a revised ethicspolicy together with the ethics awarenessprogrammes.STAKEHOLDER COMMUNICATION ANDEMPLOYEE PARTICIPATIONThe CEO continues his monthly feedback sessionsto the general workforce. The purpose of thefeedback sessions is to share information, sourcethe views and inputs of employees and providefeedback on company performance and futurestrategies.In the new year, the Group engaged the servicesof a Public Relations company, Burns, to improvethe overall image of the Group and generalcommunication to both internal and externalstakeholders.13