Internal accounting control and risk management system (disclosures required under Section 315 (2) No. 5 of the Handelsgesetzbuch (HGB – German commercial code) and explanatory report)

Deutsche Post DHL uses an internal accounting control system to ensure that Group accounting adheres to generally accepted accounting principles. This system is intended to make sure that statutory provisions are complied with and that both internal and external accounting provide a valid depiction of business processes in figures. All figures are to be entered and processed accurately and completely. Accounting mistakes are to be avoided in principle and significant assessment errors uncovered promptly.

The control system design comprises organisational and technical measures that extend to all companies in the Group. Centrally standardised accounting guidelines govern the reconciliation of the single-entity financial statements and ensure that international financial reporting standards (IFRS) are applied in a uniform manner throughout the Group. All Group companies are required to use a standard chart of accounts. Often, accounting processes are pooled in a shared services centre in order to centralise and standardise them. The IFRS financial statements of the separate Group companies are recorded in a standard, SAP-based system and then processed at a central location where one-step consolidation is performed. Other components of our control system include automatic plausibility reviews and system validations of the accounting data. In addition, manual checks are carried out regularly at a de-central level by those responsible locally (i. e., a CFO) and at a central level by Corporate Accounting, Taxes and Treasury at the Corporate Center. Beyond the aforementioned internal accounting control system and risk management structures, Corporate Internal Audit is an essential component of the Group’s controlling and monitoring system. Using risk-oriented auditing procedures, Corporate Internal Audit examines the processes related to financial reporting and reports its results to the Board of Management. Upstream and downstream checks and analyses of the reported data are performed under chronological aspects. If necessary, we call in outside experts, for instance, in the case of pension provisions. Finally, the Group’s standardised process for preparing financial statements using a centrally administered financial statements calendar guarantees a structured and efficient accounting process.