governance
structure
Reflecting the increasing importance of sustainability in the business, the sustainability forum has been replaced by a sustainability committee – a committee of the Woolworths Holdings board. The committee is chaired by Brian Frost, who has chaired the sustainability Forum from its inception, and includes one additional non-executive director, Chris Nissen, and 2 executive directors, the Chief executive officer and the People director, Simon Susman and Zyda Rylands.This committee will meet twice a year, in August and February. The terms of reference of this committee will be reflected in the corporate governance section of the annual report in 2007.
Management continues to be held responsible for driving delivery and integration of sustainability at an operational level and they meet twice a year to review progress at the sustainability and transformation integration committee, chaired by the Chief executive officer, Simon Susman.
integrated sustainability reporting
This year, for the first time, we have chosen to prepare a separate, stand-alone sustainability report. This report provides the level of detail we believe will be of interest to our key stakeholders.
Looking ahead, we will seek to continue to manage overall sustainability reporting in a distinct and, where applicable, integrated manner. We will make detailed summaries of sustainability issues, available on www.woolworthsholdings.co.za.
accounting and auditing
The external financial audit takes place within the framework of International Standards on Auditing and all financial statements are prepared in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) requirements. The current level of disclosure of financial information is rated as “excellent” in the Ernest and Young annual scoring system and the target is to retain this excellence rating.
promotion and compliance
Governance goes significantly beyond compliance and structures, policies and procedures are in place to ensure the promotion and compliance with governance and sustainability policies throughout the company. These are reviewed annually against benchmarks in the marketplace.
Legal compliance across the business is being addressed as legislation is drafted and passed that fundamentally affects Woolworths business for example, the National Credit Act and the pending Consumer Protection Bill. A compliance officer has been appointed and company-wide compliance with laws and regulations is under constant review.
Our corporate governance commitment statement, structure, practises and policies are set out in our annual report, which is also available on www.woolworthsholdings.co.za.
