BMW 2015 Annual Report Download - page 10

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which the members of the Board of Management are not present. Preparations for the examination are
facilitated by means of a questionnaire. As a result of the efficiency examination, suggestions for additional
topics of report were made during the year under report.
Each of the five Supervisory Board meetings in 2015 was attended on average by 95 per cent of its members,
a fact that can be corroborated by the analysis of attendance fees for individual members, as disclosed in the
Compensation Report. None of the members of the Supervisory Board took part in only half or less than half
of the meetings of the Supervisory Board, the Presiding Board or the committees to which the members
belong during their terms of office in the period under report.
Description of Presiding Board activities and committee work In order to work more efficiently and
prepare complex issues and decisions with greater thoroughness, the Supervisory Board has established a
Presiding Board and several committees. A description of the duties, composition and working procedures
of these committees is provided in the Corporate Governance Report.
The relevant chairmen reported at length on the status of Presiding Board and committee work at the
subsequent Supervisory Board meeting.
In a total of four meetings, the Presiding Board focused mainly on preparing topics for the meetings of
the full Supervisory Board, unless these fell under the remit of one of the committees. The treatment of more
extensive issues, such as the Long-term Business Forecast and the Annual Strategic Review, was prepared by
the Presiding Board on the basis of written and oral reports provided by Board of Management members and
senior department heads. The Presiding Board selected further topics of discussion for Supervisory Board
meetings and made suggestions to the Board of Management regarding items to be included in its reports to
the full Supervisory Board.
The Audit Committee held four meetings and three telephone conference calls during 2015. In those
telephone conference calls, the Audit Committee deliberated with the Board of Management on each of the
BMW Group’s Quarterly Reports, prior to their publication. Representatives of the external auditors were
present during the telephone conference call held to present the Interim Financial Report for the six-month
period ended 30 June 2015. The report had been subjected to review by the external auditors.
The Audit Committee meeting held in spring 2015 was primarily dedicated to preparing the Supervisory
Board meeting at which the financial statements were examined. Prior to proposing KPMG AG Wirtschafts-
prüfungs gesellschaft for election as Company and Group auditor at the Annual General Meeting 2015, the
Audit Committee obtained a Declaration of Independence from the proposed auditor. The Audit Committee
also considered the scope and composition of non-audit services, including tax advisory services provided by
KPMG entities to the BMW Group. There were no indications of conflicts of interest, grounds for exclusion
or lack of independence on the part of the auditor.
The fee proposals for the audit of the year-end Company and Group Financial Statements 2015 and the
review of the six-month Interim Financial Report were deemed appropriate by the Audit Committee. Sub-
sequent to the Annual General Meeting 2015, the Audit Committee therefore appointed KPMG AG for the
relevant engagements and specified audit focus areas.
The Head of Group Controlling reported to the Audit Committee on the current risk profile and on risk
management processes and developments within the BMW Group.
The Head of Group Financial Reporting provided a description of various aspects of the internal control
system (ICS) underlying financial reporting and explained measures being taken to further improve the system.
Testing performed during the year under report did not highlight any material ICS weaknesses that could
jeopardise the system’s effectiveness.