BMW 2007 Annual Report Download - page 7

05
Ladies and Gentlemen,
The Supervisory Board monitored the business affairs and governance of the BMW Group continuously
during the financial year 2007 and supported the Board of Management throughout in an advisory capacity.
In a total of five meetings, the Supervisory Board deliberated at length on the performance and financial
position of the BMW Group, corporate planning, the composition of the Board of Management and risk
management issues. The Supervisory Board made use of regular business status reports to keep abreast of
business performance, including the degree to which stated objectives have been achieved. It also selected
a number of topics for more in-depth review and discussion based on reports and planning documents pro-
vided by the Board of Management. Two of the main areas of focus of the Supervisory Board in 2007 were
currency management and the Board of Management’s decisions concerning the future strategic direction
of the BMW Group.
The Board of Management also kept the Supervisory Board informed of key performance indicators, personnel
developments and other significant matters, both at scheduled meetings and at other times as the need
arose. The Chairman of the Supervisory Board was also kept informed regularly and directly by the Chairman
of the Board of Management of all major business transactions and projects.
The growing need to reduce CO2 emissions in the transport sector, the challenges that this poses for the
BMW Group as a premium car maker and the technical measures introduced by the Board of Management
to reduce emissions and fuel consumption were reported on in detail by the Board of Management and
discussed within the Supervisory Board. In the opinion of the Supervisory Board, the package of measures
known as EfficientDynamics – designed to improve fuel economy whilst simultaneously emphasising agile
and dynamic vehicle concepts – represents a clear competitive advantage for the BMW Group. For this
reason, the Supervisory Board fully supports the Board of Management’s strategy to extend the BMW Group’s
lead in this area. In this context, the Board of Management also reported to the Supervisory Board on one
particular ground-breaking project which is looking, amongst other things, at new ways of achieving greater
individual mobility in the world’s megacities.
One meeting of the Supervisory Board was held at the Oxford plant, enabling the Supervisory Board to see
at first hand the expansion measures undertaken at the plant. It was also given an insight into the integration
of the new generation of MINI models into existing manufacturing structures and the benefits of the flexible
working time model devised for the plant.
After detailed consideration of the BMW Group’s long-term business plan, the Supervisory Board concurred
with the Board of Management’s conclusion that the plan is feasible and formally gave its approval to the plan.
Main focus of the work of the
Supervisory Board