The Audit Committee was composed of four members:
>> Jean-Marc JANODET (Chairman)
>> Nicolas CELIER
>> Édouard de L’ESPÉE
>> Grégoire OLIVIER
Each member of the Audit Committee has the fi nancial and
accounting expertise necessary to be a member of the Committee
insofar as they occupy or have occupied senior executive
positions in several industrial or fi nancial companies.
Grégoire Olivier is considered to be an independent Committee
member.
Responsibilities of the Audit Committee
The Committee’s responsibilities are as follows:
• ensure that the accounting policies chosen are appropriate
and properly applied to the parent company and consolidated
fi nancial statements,
• verify the accounting treatment of any signifi cant transactions
conducted by the Company,
• ensure that internal data collection and control procedures
make it possible to guarantee the quality and sincerity of the
Company’s accounts,
• serve as liaison with the Statutory Auditors,
• review all accounting and fi nancial documents to be issued
by the Company before they are published,
• inform the Supervisory Board of any observations it considers
relevant from an accounting and fi nancial point of view, in
particular when the semi-annual and annual parent company
and consolidated fi nancial statements are submitted for
approval,
• oversee the Statutory Auditor selection process and submit
the results of the selection to the Supervisory Board,
• review the audit and consulting fees paid by the Company
and the companies in the Group over which it exercises control
to the Statutory Auditors and their networks and submit a
report to the Supervisory Board..
Organization and procedures
The Audit Committee meets as frequently as it deems necessary,
and at least twice a year, prior to the Supervisory Board’s review of
the semi-annual and annual fi nancial statements. The Audit Committee
has access to all the resources it considers necessary to
fulfi ll its responsibilities. In general, its meetings are held suffi ciently
in advance of Board meetings (generally a week) to allow for an
in-depth examination of any subject requiring the Committee’s
attention. Accordingly, documents are addressed to Committee
members in advance, usually a week before the meeting. In particular,
the Audit Committee may interview the accounting staff as
well as the Statutory Auditors and, if it so desires, independently of
the presence of the Company’s management. It may also hire
experts to perform specifi c tasks falling within the scope of its
responsibilities. In this regard, the Committee has engaged a recognized
independent expert, Associés en Finance, to evaluate the
Company’s net asset value at least once every six months. At the
conclusion of each meeting, its members confer with no members
of the Company’s management present. After every committee
meeting, a report is drawn up and sent to the Supervisory Board.
The Audit Committee met six times between January 2007 and
March 2008 (vs. six times in 2006). Attendance was more than
95%, and meetings lasted on average three hours.
