Board of Control
Based on the proposal of the Board of Directors, the FMC Assembly of Delegates elects an independent auditing company as the external Board of Control. The Board of Control is appointed for a term of office of two years, and may be reappointed.
Based on the recommendations of the FMC Audit Committee, the FMC Board of Directors proposes an independent auditing company to be elected by the Assembly of Delegates.
PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) was chosen as FMC's auditor for the first time in July 2000 (previously Schweizerische Treuhand Gesellschaft – Coopers & Lybrand AG); it has been confirmed as auditor of the FMC Board of Control and the Migros Group until 30 June 2022. The Chief Auditor, Sandra Böhm, certified auditor, took up her post in the 2020 financial year. PwC will ensure that this partner is replaced as mandate manager after seven years at the latest.
Based on the recommendation of the committees of the ten regional Migros Cooperatives, the boards of directors propose an independent auditing company to the Cooperative Councils or voting circles for election. PwC was elected as the Board of Control of the Migros Cooperatives for the first time in 2012. It is elected as auditor of the subsidiaries of the FMC as part of the overall mandate.
PwC is responsible for assessing the consolidated financial statements with regard to their compliance with Swiss GAAP FER and Swiss law, and the compliance of the separate financial statements of the Federation of Migros Cooperatives, the ten regional Cooperatives and other Group companies.
Migros has decided to put the mandate for the statutory auditor of the FMC and its subsidiaries, and for all companies, pension funds and other foundations affiliated with the cooperative association, out to tender for the period from 1 January 2022. The mandate also includes auditing the annual financial statements of the Migros Group in accordance with Swiss GAAP FER. The decision is based on the principle of sound corporate management, which recommends a tender process at regular, longer-term intervals. Due to the long duration of the mandate, the existing auditor will not invited to participate in the process.
Auditing & other fees
Across the Group, PwC invoiced the following fees for services performed in relation to the 2020 and 2019 financial statements:
| In CHF 1'000 | 2020 | 2019 |
|---|---|---|
| Auditing services | 3'565 | 3'402 |
| Other regular services | 834 | 1'172 |
| Other strategic services | 3'811 | - |
| Total | 8'210 | 4'574 |
The auditing services include the following duties:
- Specific tasks to assess the consolidated financial statements and financial statements of the Federation of Migros Cooperatives, and the financial statements of the regional Cooperatives and other subsidiaries.
- Audit services that can usually only be performed by the statutory auditor, such as auditing the introduction of new valuation and accounting principles, information systems and the corresponding control environment. The internal audit function of the Migros Community makes an important contribution to these auditing services.
The other services cover the areas of tax consulting, accounting and due diligence audits performed in 2020 and 2019. The other strategic services include advisory support for system implementations. This advice is provided by the audit firm due to its specialist consulting expertise in this area, and because otherwise the selection of the auditor for the above-mentioned tender process might be further restricted.
