Swiss Estates AG places high value on the identification, measurement, and monitoring of risks. Risk management should ensure comprehensive and systematic identification and evaluation of risks so that undesirable risks are able to be minimised as much as possible in a timely fashion and income and risks remain in an adequate relationship to each other. The effect of risks on the company is checked at regular intervals, and corresponding countermeasures will be taken if possible. For this purpose, the governing board shall execute an annual risk assessment (Art. 663b OR).
In this context, the governing board has also implemented an internal controlling system (ICS) and therefore corresponds with legal requirements (Art 782a OR). The ICS is a management instrument for effectively ensuring achievement of company objectives in the areas of processes, information, asset protection, and compliance. The ICS includes methods and measures declared systematically by the company management. With regard to financial reporting, the ICS includes those processes and measures that ensure regular accounting and invoicing procedures and therefore form the basis of all financial reporting.
The governing board is responsible for ensuring that an ICS adjusted to the company including risk management is present. The company management is responsible for tasks involving implementation of the ICS, the management of risks, and compliance. In this case, not only financial risks are considered, by also operative risks. The statutory auditors inspect whether an ICS exists and report in sum concerning this to the general assembly. Furthermore, they also provide the governing board a comprehensive report including statements concerning the ICS and indicate possible recommendations for improvement.