MandatE—The General Meeting first appointed PricewaterhouseCoopers AG, Zurich, as its statutory auditor in April 2002. According to the Articles of Association of the company, the auditors must be newly appointed or confirmed each year by the General Meeting. The 2014 reporting year is the second year for the responsible lead auditor, Bruno Häfliger. Pursuant to the provisions of the Swiss Code of Obligations, the responsible lead auditor may not hold office for more than seven years. Bruno Häfliger will therefore not be allowed to serve as the responsible lead auditor after the end of the financial year 2019 at the latest.
Audit fee—The total audit fees billed by the auditing company in the reporting year 2014 amounted to TCHF 1,534.
Additional fees—The total sum of additional fees mainly related to tax and EDP consulting, billed by the audit company in the reporting year 2014 totalled TCHF 582 (including the Due Diligence).
Supervisory and controlling bodies—Supervision and control with respect to the performance of the auditors is exercised by the whole Board of Directors. The Audit Committee supports the whole Board of Directors in this task. The committee also ensures that the ongoing communication with the auditors is intact. It regularly discusses with their representatives the results of the audit activities in the areas of control and accounting activities as well as the suitability of the internal control systems. Before the interim audit, the auditors prepare an audit plan which is then submitted to the members of the Audit Committee. Based on an analysis of the current business and audit risks, the main points to be audited are proposed in this plan. The audit plan is approved by the Audit Committee and then also by the whole Board of Directors. The appropriate nature of the audit fee as well as possible additional fees for “non-audit” services is also reviewed on this occasion. The report on the final audit for the annual financial statement is dispatched to all the members of the Board of Directors. It is previously discussed in the Audit Committee with the auditors, and then approved by the whole Board of Directors at the meeting called to adopt the annual report in a circular resolution. In the year under review, the auditors once attended a meeting of the Audit Committee. Direct access for the auditors to the Audit Committee is granted at all times. Information about the organization and the scope of duties can be found on page 39 of this Annual Report.
