2010Annual Report - Schneider Electric CZ, s.r.o.
2010Annual Report - Schneider Electric CZ, s.r.o.
2010Annual Report - Schneider Electric CZ, s.r.o.
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3 CORPORATE GOVERNANCE<br />
INTERNAL CONTROL AND RISK MANAGEMENT<br />
132<br />
• drafting, updating and distributing the necessary documents for<br />
producing quality information.<br />
The unit drafts and updates:<br />
• a glossary of accounting terms used in the reporting package,<br />
including a defi nition of each term;<br />
• the chart of accounts for reporting;<br />
• a Group statutory and management accounting standards<br />
manual, which includes details of debit/credit pairings in the<br />
consolidation system;<br />
• a Group reporting procedures manual and a system user’s guide;<br />
• a manual describing the procedures to be followed to integrate<br />
newly acquired businesses in the Group reporting process;<br />
• an intercompany reconciliation procedure manual;<br />
• account closing schedules and instructions.<br />
The Management Control and Accounting unit monitors the reliability<br />
of data from the subsidiaries and conducts monthly reviews of the<br />
various units’ primary operations and performance.<br />
The Finance and Control – Legal Affairs Department oversees tax and<br />
legal affairs and insurance, to provide comprehensive management<br />
of these risks.<br />
Treasury and fi nancing management is almost completely centralised<br />
within the Corporate Treasury Center, which issues guidelines on<br />
fi nancial risk management and payment security.<br />
The Corporate Treasury Center also reviews balance-sheet changes<br />
and fi nancial risks facing the Group’s companies on an annual basis<br />
during formal fi nancial review meetings.<br />
Procedures for managing financial risk are described in “Risk<br />
Factors.”<br />
2.5. Operating Divisions and operating units<br />
The Operating Division management teams play a critical role in<br />
effective internal control.<br />
All Group units report to one of the Operating Divisions, which are<br />
headed by an Executive Vice-President, supported by a fi nancial<br />
controller.<br />
The Executive Vice-Presidents of the Operating Divisions sit on<br />
the Executive Committee, which is chaired by the Chairman of the<br />
Management Board. The fi nancial controllers report to the Internal<br />
Audit and Internal Control Departments.<br />
Within each division, the management team organises control of<br />
operations, ensures that appropriate strategies are deployed to<br />
achieve objectives, and tracks unit performance.<br />
2010 REGISTRATION DOCUMENT SCHNEIDER ELECTRIC<br />
A Management Committee led by the corporate Management<br />
Control and Accounting unit reviews the transactions of the Divisions<br />
and businesses on a monthly basis.<br />
The Operating Divisions have teams of internal controllers who<br />
organise training on Key Internal Controls for the units within their<br />
scope and analyse the quality of the internal control self-assessments<br />
(including ratings and action plans) returned by the units.<br />
They detect internal control issues that require action plans in some<br />
or all of the units under their responsibility. They also identify units<br />
that need specifi c assistance and either implement or oversee the<br />
implementation of the appropriate support.<br />
Lastly, the internal control teams offer suggestions for enhancing and<br />
updating the Key Internal Controls.<br />
2.6. Global Functions (Human Resources,<br />
Purchasing, Manufacturing, Supply Chain,<br />
Information Systems, etc.)<br />
<strong>Schneider</strong> <strong>Electric</strong> centralises decision-making and risk management<br />
at the corporate level through specifi c bodies such as the Group<br />
Acquisitions Committee (see “Risk Factors”), by combining certain<br />
functions within the Finance and Control – Legal Affairs Department<br />
(see above) and through dedicated Global Functions.<br />
An Innovation and Technology Council meets monthly to ensure<br />
cross-functional coordination among the Global Function for<br />
innovation and new products.<br />
The Human Resources Department is responsible for deploying<br />
and ensuring the application of procedures concerning employee<br />
development, occupational health and work safety.<br />
The Purchasing Department is responsible for establishing guidelines<br />
concerning purchasing organisation and procedures; relationships<br />
between buyers and vendors; and procedures governing product<br />
quality, service levels, and compliance with environmental standards<br />
and Group codes of conduct.<br />
The Global Functions also issue, adapt and distribute policies, target<br />
procedures and instructions to units and individuals assigned to<br />
handle specifi c duties.<br />
The Global Functions have internal control correspondents who work<br />
with the Internal Control Department to establish and update the Key<br />
Internal Controls deployed across the Group.<br />
They analyse the results of self-assessments concerning the Key<br />
Internal Controls that fall within their Function’s scope, identify internal<br />
control issues that require action plans and either implement or<br />
oversee the implementation of these plans.