Risk management
The Vienna Insurance Group’s risk management system is firmly anchored in the management culture of the Company, and is based on a clearly defined, conservative risk policy, extensive risk expertise, a highly developed set of risk management tools, and risk-based Managing Board decisions.
The detailed risk report for the Vienna Insurance Group is provided in the notes to the consolidated financial statements (see PDF, pages 129-147).
Internal control and risk management system in the accounting process
The documentation of the process of preparing the annual financial statements was undertaken jointly with a consulting firm. In it, a summary of essential controls was made, as was a presentation of the linkage of the process and the controls to the risks identified as part of risk management.
The controls as thus documented are applied in the process sequence so as to ensure that reporting errors are prevented or are identified and corrected.
The objectives of the annual financial statement process are:
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Completeness: All business transactions of the reporting period are recorded in full.
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Inventory: All reported assets and liabilities are available on the balance sheet date.
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Accuracy: All recorded business transactions relate to the period to which the financial statements relate.
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Measurement: All assets and liabilities, or income and expenses, are recognised at their fair values in accordance with accounting rules.
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Ownership: Rights and obligations are properly reported.
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Presentation: All statement items are accurately presented and disclosed.
The financial statement process includes the integration of all data from accounting as well as the upstream processes into the annual financial statements. The latter are submitted to the appropriate division heads for control and further coordination with the Managing Board. The financial statements are finally cleared by the Managing Board.
The Group has established an internal reporting system of the subsidiaries included in the consolidated financial statements. The processes and controls implemented ensure that all necessary data are recorded and processed.
In addition, the auditors regularly assess the functioning of the internal control system; the results are reported to the Audit Committee of the Supervisory Board.
Disclosures required under § 267(3a) in combination with § 243a UGB
Information on these disclosures is provided in notes 14 and 36 in the notes to the consolidated financial statements.
