Canon 2003 Annual Report Download - page 6

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Corporate Governance at Canon:
A Commitment to Building Corporate Value
Vigorous Corporate Auditing
The board of four corporate auditors includes
two outside corporate auditors, and the board
attends directors’ meetings, reviews written and
oral business reports from directors and other
managerial staff and conducts auditing proce-
dures for the business and property. From May
2003 on, any contracts between Canon and an
accounting company must be approved by the
auditors’ board in advance. In addition, an internal
Corporate Audit Center inspects areas of the
company on issues such as compliance, risk
management, and internal control systems prior
to offering assessments and proposals in these
areas. The center also works closely with admin-
istrative divisional management on quality,
environmental and security (informational and
physical) issues.
Streamlined Board Management
Canon’s board consists of 24 directors, all of
whom typically attend the management meet-
ings where key corporate issues are discussed
and decided. For purposes of efficiency,
Canon’s board does not include outside directors
and the term of service of a director has been
reduced to one year (from two). As well as the
board of directors, a number of cross-company
management advisory committees have been
formed, which specialize in different important
management themes. As well as accelerating
the decision-making process, these committees
also serve another function as they perform an
error-checking role.
Good corporate governance is an integral part of the Canon business philosophy.
We are committed to approaching social, ethical and environmental matters in
the same way as we approach our core business activities, and to ensuring
transparency in these areas. Canon recognizes the importance of building
sound relationships with all of our shareholders. Therefore, we set high standards
of behavior and continuously strive to make pertinent information available for
our shareholders.
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