Annual Report 2015
FEMSA Copyright 2016
Annual Report 2015Pursuant to Articles 42 and 43 of the Mexican Securities Law (Ley del Mercado de Valores) and the Charter of the Audit Committee, we submit to the Board of Directors our report on the activities performed during, 2015. We considered the recommendations established in the Code of Corporate Best Practices and, since the Company is a publicly-listed company in the New York Stock Exchange (¨NYSE¨), we also complied with the applicable provisions set forth in Sarbanes-Oxley Act. We met at least on a quarterly basis and, based on a work program, we carried out the activities described below:
Risk Assessment
We periodically evaluated the effectiveness of the Enterprise Risk Management Process, which is established to identify, measure, record, assess, and manage the Company´s risks, as well as for the implementation of follow-up measures to ensure its effective operation.
We reviewed with Management and both External and Internal Auditors of the Company, the key risk factors that could adversely affect the Company´s operations and assets, and we determined that they have been appropriately identified, managed, and considered in both audit programs.
Internal Control
We verified the compliance by Management of its responsibilities regarding internal control, and the establishment of general guidelines and the procedures necessary for their application and compliance. This process included presentations to the Audit Committee by the area responsible of the most important subsidiaries. Additionally, we followed the comments and remarks made in this regard by External Auditors as a result of their findings.
We verified the actions taken by the Company in order to comply with section 404 of Sarbanes-Oxley Act regarding the self-assessment of internal controls. During this process, we made sure that a follow up on main preventive and corrective actions implemented concerning internal control issues that required improvement, were taken, and the submission to the authorities of requested information.
External Audit
We recommended to the Board of Directors the appointment of the external auditors (who have been the same for the past seven years) for the Company and its subsidiaries for fiscal year 2015. For this purpose, we verified their independence and their compliance with the requirements established by applicable laws and regulations. We analyzed their approach, work program as well as their coordination with Internal Audit.
We were in permanent and direct communication with them to be timely informed of their progress and their observations, and also to consider any comments that resulted from their review of the quarterly financial statements. We were timely informed of their conclusions and reports, regarding the annual financial statements and followed up on the actions implemented resulting from the findings and recommendations provided during the year.
We authorized the fees of the external auditors for their annual audit and other permitted services, and verified that such services would not compromise their Independence.
With the appropriate input from Management, we carried out an evaluation of their services for the previous year and initiated the evaluation process for fiscal year 2015.
Internal Auditing
In order to maintain its independence and objectivity, the Internal Audit area reports to the Audit Committee therefore:
We reviewed and approved the annual work program and budget, in order to comply with the requirements of Sarbanes-Oxley Act. For its preparation, the Internal Audit area participated in the risk assessment process and the validation of the internal control system.
We received periodic reports regarding the progress of the approved work program, any deviations and the causes thereof.
We followed up the implementation of the observations developed by Internal Audit.
We confirmed the existence and validated the implementation of an Annual Training program.
We reviewed and discuss with the responsible of the IA function the evaluations of the Internal Audit service performed by the responsible of each business unit and the Audit Committee.
Financial Information, Accounting Policies and Reports to the Third Parties
We reviewed the quarterly and annual financial statements of the Company with the individuals responsible for its preparation and recommended to the Board of Directors, its approval and authorize its publication. As part of this process, we analyzed the comments of the external auditors and confirm that the criteria, accounting policies and information used by Management to prepare financial information were adequate, sufficient, and consistently applied with the prior year. As a consequence, the information submitted by Management reasonably reflects the financial position of the Company, its operating results and cash flows for the fiscal year ending on December 31, 2015.
We also reviewed the quarterly reports prepared by Management and submitted to shareholders and the financial community, verifying that such information was prepared under International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) and the same accounting criteria for preparing the annual information. We also reviewed the existence of an integral process that provides a reasonable assurance of fairness in the information content. To conclude, we recommended to the Board of Directors to authorize the release of such information.
Our reviews also included reports and any other financial information required by Mexican and United States regulatory authorities.
We reviewed and approved the changes to the accounting standards used by the Company that became effective in 2015, recommending their approval to the Board of Directors.
Compliance with Applicable Laws and Regulations, Legal Issues and Contingencies
We verified the existence and reliability of the Company-established controls to ensure compliance with the various legal provisions applicable to the Company. When required, we verified its appropriate disclosure in the financial reports.
We made periodic reviews of the various tax, legal and labor contingencies of the Company. We supervised the efficiency of the procedures established for their identification and follow-up, as well as their adequate disclosure and recording.
Code of Conduct
We reviewed the new version of the Business Code of Ethics of the Company which incorporates among other changes an update of its values, validating that it includes a compliance provision with the Anti-Money Laundering laws in the countries where we operate, as well as compliance with anti-corruption laws (FCPA), and recommended its approval to the Board of Directors.
With the support of Internal Audit, we verified the compliance of the Business Code of Ethics, the existence of adequate processes to update it and its communication to employees, as well as the application of sanctions in those cases where violations were detected.
We reviewed the complaints received in the Company´s Whistle-Blowing System and followed up on their correct and timely handling.
Administrative Activities
We held regular meetings with Management to be informed of any relevant or unusual activities and events. We also met individually with external and internal auditors to review their work, and observations.
In those cases where we deemed advisable, we requested the support and opinion from independent experts. We are not aware of any significant non-compliance with the operating policies, the internal control system or the accounting records of the Company.
We held executive meetings and when applicable reviewed with Management our resolutions.
We submitted quarterly reports to the Board of Directors, on the activities performed by the Committee.
We reviewed the Audit Committee Charter and made the amendments that we deemed appropriate, submitting such changes for its approval by the Board of Directors.
We verified that the financial expert of the Committee meets the technical background and experience requirements to be considered as such, and that each Committee Member meets the independence requirements set forth in by the applicable laws and regulations.
Our activities were duly documented in the minutes prepared for each meeting. Such minutes were properly reviewed and approved by Committee members.
We made our annual performance self-assessment, and submitted the results to the Chairman of the Board of Directors.
Sincerely
February 22, 2016
José Manuel Canal Hernando