2017년 3월에 소위 보고 의무가 독일 의회(Bundestag)에서 통과되었음을 기억할 수 있습니다. 몇 가지 예외를 제외하고 이 법은 EU 지침 2014/95/EU를 일대일로 국내법으로 전환합니다. 보고 의무의 도입을 동반한 많은 논평과 기사에서 지금까지 한 가지 중요한 측면이 제대로 노출되지 않았습니다. 바로 감독 위원회의 "검토 의무"입니다. 이 문서는 이 의무가 무엇이며 감독 위원회가 이를 준수할 수 있는 방법을 설명합니다.
The CSR reporting obligation stipulates that companies of public interest and with more than 500 employees should publish information on environmental, social and employee concerns. In addition, companies must report on measures to respect human rights and fight corruption. Affected companies are required to publish the required sustainability information for the 2017 fiscal year in 2018. Violations can be punished with fines of up to €10 million.
So what does this have to do with supervisory boards?
First of all: A third-party review of the content of the sustainability report is not mandatory. Companies decide for themselves whether or not they want to increase the transparency and credibility of their reporting by means of an external audit. Even an audit of the annual management reports only checks whether the sustainability information has been disclosed, not whether it is correct and complete.
However, the new law places the onus on the supervisory board: The sustainability information to be disclosed is explicitly included in the duties of the supervisory board (according to §§ 170, 171 German Stock Corporation Act AktG). Regardless of whether the sustainability information is disclosed as part of the management report or as a separate sustainability report, the information must be reviewed by the supervisory board.
The challenge
According to the new legislation, the supervisory board must review the legality, regularity and appropriateness of the sustainability reporting. This presents supervisory boards with the challenge of familiarizing themselves with the specified subject areas within a very short time in order to be able to comprehend and evaluate the sometimes very complex issues.
In order to be able to credibly verify the disclosed information, the supervisory board must not only familiarize itself with the management approach, but also internalize the data collection processes, understand the methods pursued, and deal with the risks. Examples here would be the verification of greenhouse gas balances or the legal requirements for anti-corruption, which can only be comprehended by supervisory boards with considerable effort.
How DQS can help you
According to an amendment to Section 111 (2) of the AktG, the supervisory board has the option to commission an external substantive audit. By leaving the audit to an external auditor, supervisory boards can ensure that the audit is carried out by qualified and experienced experts. This not only saves them time, but also gives them the assurance that the audit will be conducted in accordance with international standards.
DQS is a licensed provider of report reviews
For the assessment we follow international standards such as the AA1000 Assurance Standard.
Our service portfolio includes:
- Review and verification of sustainability reports (GRI, German Sustainability Code, Global Compact, AA1000, ...)
- Audit reports and assurance statements for supervisory boards
- Audit and verification of non-financial indicators (CO2 balances, energy consumption, water consumption, occupational safety, ...)
- Readiness check: analysis of reporting against legal requirements
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타이즈 윌라에르트
Thijs Willaert 박사는 지속 가능성 및 식품 안전 부문의 마케팅 및 커뮤니케이션 책임자입니다. 그는 또한 지속 가능성 보고서의 외부 감사를 위한 심사인이기도 합니다. 그의 관심 분야는 지속 가능성 관리, 지속 가능한 조달, 감사 환경의 디지털화입니다.
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