Annual report 2008/09 - Axpo Group

Annual Report Axpo Holding AG
40 – 41
Editorial / 2–3
Interview with the CEO / 4–6
Strategy / 8–10
Markets and perspectives / 12–18
Success factors / 22–29
Corporate governance / 32–47
Annual report / 50–65
Controlling
Fees
The following fees were charged in the fi nancial year 2008/09:
There are no long-term contractual
ties with members of the Board of
Directors or the Executive Board. No
agreements have been made regarding
severance pay.
External auditors
KPMG AG, Zurich is the Group auditor
and statutory auditor of Axpo Holding
AG. The audit mandate was given to
KPMG for the fi rst time for the 2003/04
fi nancial year. The statutory auditor
and Group auditor are elected for a period
of one year by the annual general
meeting of shareholders. The current
mandate manager has exercised his
function since 2004.
Statutory auditor/
Group auditor (KPMG)
in CHF million
Auditing fees 3.2
Additional fees for services 0.1
The internal audit team
reviews the risk management
as well as the effectiveness
and effi ciency of the business
procedures.
The Audit and Finance Committee of
the Board of Directors periodically
reviews compliance with the audit plan
agreed with the statutory auditor.
Internal auditors
Internal auditing is not prescribed by
law and is carried out for all Axpo Group
companies by PricewaterhouseCoopers
(PwC). PwC audits risk management
and the effectiveness and effi ciency
of business procedures on the instructions
of the Chairman of the Board
of Directors or the CEO in consultation
with the Chairman. The annual audit
plan is drawn up by the Audit and Finance
Committee. PwC submits a
written report to the Chairman of the
Board of Directors, the Audit and Finance
Committee, the Executive Board
and the divisions that were audited.
The Board of Directors is informed
orally of the results of the audit. The
internal auditor is supervised by
the Audit and Finance Committee of
the Board of Directors.
In the 2008/09 fi nancial year,
the internal audit team focused on
accounts receivable management, IT
management and energy and gas
trading.
Information policy
Axpo issues transparent, active and
honest information about the Group,
its objectives and specifi c events.
Its dialogue with the public enhances
the Group’s credibility and promotes
understanding of Axpo Group’s business
policies.
Axpo attaches great importance
to communication that meets the
needs of the target groups. It provides
its shareholders with information
at the annual general meeting as well
as via the half-yearly shareholders’
newsletter. In 2008/09, approximately
70 media releases regarding current
events at the Group and its subsidiaries
were sent out to the media. Background
discussions and interviews provide
the media with welcome opportunities
to obtain in-depth information from
the top management on specifi c topics
of interest related to the Group or
the industry.
Information and news are also
disseminated to the broad public via
the two websites energiedalog.ch and
axpo.ch. Both websites have been updated
and revised. The energiedialog.
ch website is a modern information
platform targeting a younger audience.
Other fundamental features of Axpo’s
information policy include regular
publications such as the annual report
and the sustainability report as well
as the quarterly “Energiedialog” newsletter
targeting opinion leaders in
the spheres of business, politics and
society. The redesigned annual report
was rated among the top 20 annual
reports in Switzerland by the business
magazine “Bilanz”.