Panasonic 2008 Annual Report Download - page 47

with Companywide emergencies in order to ensure a seam-
less and timely response.
Matsushita will make comprehensive efforts in risk man-
agement to recognize business risks through the above-
mentioned process and take countermeasures that protect
the interests of all stakeholders, while helping the Company
achieve its business goals.
Information Security
With the advent of the information society, the value of infor-
mation in business has grown enormously. This prompted
Matsushita to take a pioneering step with the establishment
of a Corporate Information Security Division in January
2004. This division was created to achieve the three aims
listed below. Specifically, the Company will implement initia-
tives to attain a world-class level of information security by
setting and working toward common global targets and
training information security personnel.
1. Ensure a high degree of trust in the Company by
achieving the same level of information security for
each business site and employee worldwide, and by
managing customer and business partner information
in an appropriate manner.
2. Boost management efficiency and enhance corporate
value by ensuring trade secrets, personal information,
technical data and other information held by the
Company are used and shared safely.
3. Formulate common global rules, build a global imple-
mentation framework and conduct regular training
programs for all Matsushita employees to raise
awareness of information security among all employ-
ees and create a culture of information management.
Internal Control Over Financial Reporting
Matsushita has documented its internal control system,
designed to ensure reliability in financial reporting of the
Matsushita Group including its subsidiaries, ranging from
the control infrastructure to actual internal control activities.
The Company has reinforced its internal controls by imple-
menting self-checks and self-assessment programs, in
addition to regular internal auditing at each business domain
company. Matsushita has also appointed an Internal Audit-
ing Manager at each business domain company who audits
the compliance status and effectiveness of internal controls.
The Corporate Internal Auditing Group supervises these
activities in order to ensure the reliability of each company’s
financial reporting. With the aim of further enhancing the
president, tests are conducted to assess understanding of
compliance, and unique activities are conducted in each
country and region in a bid to raise compliance awareness
on a global level throughout the Company.
Matsushita has a Global Corporate Business Ethics
Hotline, enabling all employees in Japan and overseas to
receive advice about possible violations of laws related to
their duties or corporate ethics. The Company also estab-
lished a system whereby the Board of Corporate Auditors
can directly receive concerns from employees and other
individuals with regard to accounting or auditing irregularities,
thereby helping to improve financial soundness.
Risk Management
In addition to centralized collection and analysis of informa-
tion, Matsushita maintains a management cycle that links
risk management activities with other business manage-
ment initiatives. In April 2005, Matsushita established the
Global and Group (G&G) Risk Management Committee,
consisting of Directors and Executive Officers from various
departments of the Corporate Headquarters. Matsushita
also established similar functional committees at business
domain companies and subsidiaries to formulate appropri-
ate countermeasures on a global and Group basis. Specifi-
cally, all business domain companies and subsidiaries of the
Matsushita Group assess risks once a year, coinciding with
the creation of annual business plans. Using the results of
these surveys, the G&G Risk Management Committee then
evaluates risks according to priority, and directs each busi-
ness domain company on appropriate countermeasures.
Progress in implementing these countermeasures is also
monitored. Furthermore, in May 2006, the G&G Risk Man-
agement Committee formulated the Basic Risk Manage-
ment Regulations, which outline the basic objectives of risk
management and action guidelines for promoting risk man-
agement. In February 2008, in order to ensure the imple-
mentation of and strengthen internal controls further,
chairpersonship of the G&G Risk Management Committee
was handed from the Managing Director in Charge of Cor-
porate Risk Management to the President. Matsushita has
been operating Companywide Emergency Measure Regula-
tions, mainly for disaster risks, since they were drafted in
September 1995. However, in order to respond to the diver-
sification of risks and their increasing impact as well as
public demands, the Company has revised these regula-
tions, widening their scope to include other risks. The revi-
sions also clarify the systems and functions that will deal
Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd. 2008 45