LensCrafters 2012 Annual Report Download - page 160

ANNUAL REPORT 2012> 74 |
With reference to compliance, in 2011 the position of Corporate Compliance Manager
was created and a specific program was set-up and aimed at the mapping of the relevant
areas of compliance for the Group and gaining an understanding of the level of maturity
and protection of processes. On the basis of this program, specific compliance initiatives
focused on Corporate Criminal Liability/Anti-Corruption, Privacy Data Management and
Responsible Sourcing/Supply Chain Compliance were scoped, defined and developed
in 2012 and these initiatives are expected to be completed in 2013. Throughout the
course of the year work has continued on the definition of a comprehensive governance
model for the Group’s Compliance function, aimed at achieving a more efficient, rational
and pervasive monitoring of the processes and through subsequently reorganizing this
function.
From the viewpoint of the continuous process of applying the Internal Control System
and Risk Management process to developments in operating conditions and legal and
regulatory frameworks, the Company implemented a Financial Risk Policy, which was
introduced in 2006 and revised most recently by the Board of Directors in October 2011,
and is applicable to all the companies of the Luxottica Group.
The policy sets forth the principles and rules for the management and monitoring of
financial risk and pays particular attention to the activities carried out by the Luxottica
Group to minimize the risks deriving from the fluctuations of interest rates, exchange rates
and the solvency of financial counterparties.
The policy clarifies that the instrument used for “interest rate risk” hedging is the plain
vanilla “interest rate swaps”, whereas for “exchange risk” “non-speculative” derivative
instruments, such as “spot and forward exchange contracts” are used. In certain
circumstances and subject to the specific authorization of the CFO, more flexible
instruments that replicate the effect of the forward exchange contract or “zero cost collar”,
“accumulator forward” and “average strike forward” can be used.
The use of derivative instruments is aimed only at the actual hedging of exchange risk
that the company is exposed to, therefore the use of these instruments for speculative
purposes is not permitted. In addition to aiming at reducing counterparty risk, the policy
specifies the minimum criteria to be met in order to be able to transact with the Group.
This principle sets forth: the obligation to operate with qualified banking counterparties
through standard agreements (Master Agreement ISDA), a limit on exposure per individual
counterparty and a limit on the total exposure of the Group, as well as fixing the minimum
credit credential requirements for the counterparties authorized to engage derivative
transactions.
A quarterly reporting system has also been implemented for the Control and Risk
Committee since 2007 to highlight the debt exposure and the hedging transactions
implemented to minimize “interest rate” risk, “exchange rate” risk and, since 2011,
“counterparty risk”.
Another operational and control instrument that has been implemented for some time is
the Credit Policy, which is applicable to all the wholesale companies of Luxottica Group.