• Vision and Mission
• Corporate Governance Codex
• Preamble
• Shareholders and shareholders’ meeting
• Interaction between the Board of Management and the Supervisory Board
• Board of Management
• Supervisory Board
• Transparency
• Accounting and auditing
• Declaration of Compliance
• Business Control System
• Convenience
• Countries
• Management
• Company Structure
• Quality management
• Facts
• History
• Contact

7. Accounting and auditing

• 7.1 Accounting
  • 7.1.1 Shareholders and third parties are mainly informed by the consolidated financial statements. They should be provided with information through interim reports during the course of the financial year. The consolidated financial statements and the interim reports should be prepared on the basis of internationally recognized accounting principles. Annual financial statements are prepared on the basis of national regulations for purposes of compliance with company law (in particular calculation of profit). These statements also form the basis of taxation.
    
  • 7.1.2 The consolidated financial statements are prepared by the Board of Management of Lekkerland AG. They are audited by the auditor and by the Supervisory Board of the company. The consolidated financial statements should be published within 120 days of the end of the financial year in a form accessible in the public domain to be defined by the Board of Management of Lekkerland AG and the Supervisory Board of the company.
    
  • 7.1.3 The company should publish a list of third-party companies in which it has a shareholding that is not of minor importance for the enterprise.
    
  • 7.1.4 The consolidated financial statements should also include explanations of any relationships with shareholders who qualify as affiliated persons in accordance with the applicable accounting regulations.
    

• 7.2. Auditing
  • 7.2.1 Before putting forward any proposals to a vote, the Supervisory Board of the company and/or the Audit Committee should obtain a declaration by the designated auditor stating whether, and if so, which professional, financial, personal, or other relationships between the auditor and its executive officers and audit managers on the one hand and the enterprise and its executive officers and/or the executive officers of Lekkerland AG, on the other hand, could cast doubt on the auditor’s independence. The declaration should also define the extent to which other services were provided in the previous financial year for the company, in particular in the field of consultation, and/or have been agreed contractually for the following year.
  • The Supervisory Board of the company should agree with the auditor that the Chairman of the Supervisory Board and/or the Audit Committee should be immediately informed about any grounds relating to exclusion or bias that emerge during the course of the audit, if these are not immediately eliminated.
    
  • 7.2.2 The Supervisory Board of the company commissions the auditor to carry out the audit and concludes an agreement on fees with the auditor.
    
  • 7.2.3 The Supervisory Board of the company should further agree that the auditor must immediately report important assessments and occurrences which emerge from performance of the audit of the financial statements and which affect the functions of the Supervisory Board.
    
  • The Supervisory Board of the company should further agree that the auditor must inform the Supervisory Board and/or make reference in the audit opinion if the auditor uncovers facts in the course of performing the audit of the financial statements which indicate that the declaration provided by the Board of Management of Lekkerland AG and the Supervisory Board of the company in relation to the Corporate Governance Code is incorrect.
    
  • 7.2.4 The auditor participates in the deliberations of the Supervisory Board of the company relating to the annual financial statements and consolidated financial statements and reports on the main results of the audit.
    

  Frechen, 3 February 2010