corporate governance

The following improvements in governance were made during the year:

• appointment of a head of stakeholder engagement who implemented a formal stakeholder engagement framework, and represented the group in engagements with government;
• appointment of a legal compliance officer whose focus was on ensuring regulatory compliance by our financial services business;
• revision of the insider trading and external auditor independence policies as well as implementation of effective monitoring processes to ensure compliance thereto;
• formal integration of risk management into the strategic and business planning process; and
• development of a Woolworths sustainability index.

The board is pleased that its commitment to effective governance has been recognised through the following:

• achieved first place in the medium impact category of the JSE Limited sustainability index;
• achieved “Excellent” category in Ernst & Young survey of annual reports of the top 100 companies (for the second successive year);
• recognised as top retailer in Deutsche Securities corporate governance survey; and
• rated as a finalist in the Deloitte good governance awards.