Porsche 2009 Annual Report Download - page 96

Continuous enhancement
The internal control system and risk man-
agement system are constantly optimized as part of
Porsche’s improvement process. Equal importance is
attached to both internal and external requirements –
such as the provisions of the German Accounting Law
Modernization Act (BilMoG). The objective of the im-
provements made to the systems is to ensure con-
tinuous monitoring of the relevant risk areas, including
the organizational units responsible, and more effi-
cient structuring of risk processes.
Macroeconomic risk
The global economy has not yet recovered
entirely from the effects of the global financial crisis.
The recovery has been hampered, for instance, by the
risk of illiquidity of some countries. Experts are also
warning of a “real estate bubble” bursting in China,
which could lead to inflation, among other things. This
may also impact on the business operations of Por-
sche as a group with global operations, for which
China represents a major sales market. The situation
of the economy as a whole may make potential Por-
sche customers reluctant to buy a vehicle. Significant
risks are also the continuing high prices for energy
and raw materials, increasing protectionism and a
sustained imbalance in foreign trade. Changes in the
legislation, taxes and customs duties as well as a
greater degree of permanent state intervention could
also have a significant negative impact on the interna-
tional activities of the group.
Industry risk
In the automotive industry the financial crisis
gave rise to new risks or increased existing ones.
Lower purchasing power among potential automotive
customers has meant that a large number of automo-
tive manufacturers have had to reduce their prices;
cost-intensive marketing measures were implemented
to gain an edge on the competition. Porsche also had
to offer purchase incentives on several markets in
order to optimize sales.
The automotive industry is the center of at-
tention in the environmental debate. There is great
public pressure to minimize fuel consumption, which
could impact sales. Some markets are threatening to
levy taxes or tolls in an attempt to reduce fuel con-
sumption and CO2 figures. Other markets have al-
ready introduced such regulations. Porsche is con-
tinuously working on improving fuel consumption and
CO2 figures of the vehicles to meet existing regula-
tions or potential new regulations. So as not to ad-
versely impact demand and sales, drive systems with
reduced emissions are offered such as the hybrid
drive for the Cayenne.
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