Mercedes 2012 Annual Report Download - page 169

177
6 | Corporate Governance | Report of the Audit Committee
Also in this meeting, the Audit Committee discussed the report
on the fee paid to the external auditors in the year 2011 for
auditing and non-auditing services, and – subject to the consent-
ing vote of the shareholders in the Annual Shareholders’
Meeting – the proposal on fees to be agreed for the year 2012.
Furthermore, the Audit Committee approved the Report of
the Audit Committee for the year 2011. With due consideration
of the results of the independence review and the discussion
of the quality of the external audit, the Audit Committee
decided to recommend to the Supervisory Board, and subse-
quently to the Annual Shareholders’ Meeting, that KPMG be
engaged to conduct the annual external audit and the external
auditors’ review of interim financial reports. Finally, on the
basis of its responsibility, the Audit Committee dealt with the
draft agenda for the 2012 Annual Shareholders’ Meeting
and the annual audit plan of the Internal Auditing department.
In the meetings during the year 2012 relating to the quarterly
results, the Audit Committee discussed the interim financial
reports before their publication with the Board of Management,
dealt with the respective risk reports, and received activity
reports from the Group Compliance and Corporate Audit
departments. The Audit Committee regularly communicated
with the independent Monitor. In this context, it was also
involved in setting and evaluating the annual compliance targets
for the Board of Management, and dealt on a quarterly basis
with notifications received confidentially, and if desired anony-
mously, through the Group’s own whistleblower system and
processed internally by the Business Practices Office. The whis-
tleblower system was expanded in February 2012 with an
external, independent, neutral mediator as an additional contact
person. Employees can personally approach the neutral
mediator in confidence, without being recognized as a whistle-
blower within the Daimler Group.
The Audit Committee received the report on non-audit services
provided by the external auditors in its meeting in June 2011.
In this meeting, the important audit issues for the external audit
of the year 2012 and the framework of approval for engaging
the external auditors to provide non-audit services was deter-
mined. This meeting was also used to analyze the audit for
the year 2011 and the performance of the Audit Committee’s
monitoring duties with regard to the financial reporting process
and the functional capabilities of the internal control system,
the risk management system and the internal auditing system.
In this context, on the basis of the statements of the external
auditors as assessed by the Audit Committee, the internal control
system was also dealt with. As well as the area of financial
reporting, the internal control system also includes internal
control and risk management with the areas of internal audit-
ing and compliance management. The Committee discussed the
activity reports on the internal control system and dealt
in particular detail with changes to the system and its further
development.
Furthermore, the Audit Committee received information during
this meeting on new developments in accounting and financial
reporting and other relevant areas, on the status of legal risks,
on the further development of the global treasury system, on the
funding status of pension obligations and on other current
topics.
Dr. Bernhard Walter, Chairman of the Audit Committee.