In its global business activities, the AGRANA Group is exposed to a wide variety of internal and external risks. AGRANA’s Management Board is committed to fulfilling its responsibility for the early identification and mitigation of risks to the company’s viability as a going concern. It is supported in this by a risk management team that, together, with experts in the individual business segments and functions, evaluates all risks and opportunities relevant to AGRANA and formulates possible risk management measures. At least twice per financial year, this inventory of risks is updated and reported to the Management Board and Audit Committee of AGRANA.
To be prepared for possible future crises and be able to act rapidly and in a concerted manner, it was decided to have each company in the Group name a Risk Management Core Team for that company. The Group’s Crisis Management Handbook sets out the types of members that a company’s Crisis Management Team must consist of, what management actions it must take and how it is to communicate internally and externally.
The Risk Control department, a central independent control unit organisationally located in the corporate Controlling department, has responsibility for strategic control of Group companies and operational risk control, providing decision support to the Management Board with respect to risk policy. The Risk Control department regularly reports to the Management Board, which evaluates the current risk situation, taking account of the Group’s risk-bearing capacity and relevant risk limits. The department is also responsible for the Group-wide development and implementation of methods for measuring risks and returns, the ongoing further development and improvement of control tools, and the development and maintenance of the basic policies. These policies form part of the internal control system and ensure, among other benefits, proper internal and external financial reporting.