Statutory auditor
Duration of mandate and term of office of Lead auditor
The financial statements and the consolidated financial statements of Bellevue Group AG are audited by PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC). In addition, most of the subsidiaries are also audited by PwC. As the responsible Group auditor, PwC ensures an appropriate and sufficient audit of the consolidated companies.
The group and statutory auditor of Bellevue Group AG is elected for a one-year period at the general meeting of shareholders. PwC was elected for the first time for the 1999 fiscal year. The auditor in charge is Philippe Bingert. He has exercised this function since the 2021 fiscal year. The rotation period for this function is seven years.
Fees paid to auditor
CHF 1 000 | 01.01.–31.12.2023 | 01.01.–31.12.2022 | ||
Auditing fees | 426 | 421 | ||
- thereof PwC | 380 | 376 |
In the business years 2023 and 2022 no additional fees were charged by the auditor.
If an auditor is considered for additional mandates, there is no prescribed catalogue of criteria that has to be consulted when approving these types of additional mandates. The Audit & Risk Committee (ARC) decides on an individual basis whether the issuing of an additional mandate would impact on the auditor’s independence.
Instruments for supervising and monitoring the auditors
The Board of Directors is responsible for the supervision and control of the statutory auditor and the group auditor and it is supported in this function by the Audit & Risk Committee (ARC). The ARC receives and evaluates reports from representatives of the external auditors on a regular basis. It confers regularly with the head auditor about the effectiveness of the internal control systems taking into consideration Bellevue Group’s risk profile. In addition, the ARC reviews the scope of the auditing work, the quality of the work performed and the independence of the external auditors. The external auditors have direct access to the ARC at all times. The external auditors usually attend meetings of the ARC twice a year. The external auditors attended three ARC meetings in the reporting year. The internal auditors usually attend all meetings of the ARC. In the reporting year, the internal auditors attended three meetings of the ARC.