DHL 2004 Annual Report Download - page 66

Further optimization of Group structure
We continued to optimize our Group structure in 2004 and this entailed changes in our
organization. The Group’s overall structure continues to be strictly broken down into
corporate divisions. Overall management is the responsibility of the Group’s Board of
Management, which is supported in this task by the corporate departments. The operat-
ing businesses are divided into four corporate divisions and into services units grouped
together under Corporate Services. The four corporate divisions represent the segments
required for the purposes of International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS).
The headquarters in Bonn (Corporate Center) formulates Group policy and carries
out the functions of Group management. Each of the four corporate divisions is managed
by a divisional headquarters. In 2004, we decided to move the EXPRESS Corporate
Division headquarters to Bonn; the MAIL and FINANCIAL SERVICES Corporate
Divisions are also managed from here. The responsibilities of the DHL headquarters
previously located in Brussels were reassigned accordingly. Management responsibilities
relating to the Group were integrated into the Corporate Center; the global responsibilities
of the EXPRESS Corporate Division were allocated to the new divisional headquarters in
Bonn. The EXPRESS Corporate Division headquarters responsible for the Europe and
Emerging Markets regions continues to be based in Brussels. The LOGISTICS Corporate
Divisional headquarters continues to be based in Basel.
In 2003, we placed all Group finance functions under the responsibility of the
Board Member Finance and directly integrated the relevant organizations of the corpo-
rate divisions. Our financial organization is based on the separation of accounting and
controlling functions. This has already been put into practice at headquarters level; we
have begun the process of introducing this separation at regional and country level and
will continue with it in 2005.
In the year under review, all the Group’s audit departments were brought under a
newly created corporate department called Corporate Internal Audit. Its competencies
and activities were also expanded. In addition to traditional financial audits, they now
encompass operational audits at a central level, which assess the effectiveness and effi-
ciency of our business processes. Corporate Internal Audit also conducts management
audits, which review the reliability of information used as the basis of decision-making
for management purposes. Corporate Internal Audit therefore forms a major element of
corporate governance, and strengthens the framework which supports responsible and
accountable company management and control that is focused on the long-term creation
of value.
Organizational changes in operating business
In the Corporate Services area, responsibility for legal services, previously part of
Deutsche Post and DHL, was consolidated and transferred to two corporate departments.
One of these has responsibility for the MAIL and FINANCIAL SERVICES Corporate
Divisions, as well as for legal matters affecting the Group. A further corporate depart-
ment deals with legal issues relating to the EXPRESS and LOGISTICS Corporate Divisions,
and also with insurance and risk management.
All addressing, printing, in-house and call center activities in the MAIL Corporate
Division have been brought together under Value Added Services. The aim of this is
firstly to secure our core business in Germany, and secondly to make inroads into the
lucrative value added business. Information technology in the corporate division has
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