8 Statutory auditors
8.1 Duration of the mandate and term of office of the lead auditor
The annual general meeting of 15 April 2016 elected Ernst & Young AG as auditors of Allreal Holding AG and all subsidiaries included in the scope of consolidation for the 2016 financial year.
Daniel Zaugg, Audit Partner, has performed the function of lead engagement partner since 2013.
8.2 Audit fees
For 2016, audit fees of CHF 0.35 million were agreed, covering the remuneration for auditing the consolidated annual accounts, the statutory individual accounts of all Allreal companies, as well as for issuing audit confirmations for the compensation report.
The amount of the auditing fee for 2016 corresponds to a budget proposal submitted by the external auditors for a three-year period from 2016 to 2018.
8.3 Additional fees
For additional accounting services required in 2016, Ernst & Young AG invoiced a Group company for CHF 0.014 million. This corresponds to 4.0% of the audit fee.
8.4 Information tools pertaining to an external audit
The Risk and Audit Committee maintains an exchange of information with the external auditors within the scope of the tasks described on pages 29 and 30 of the Annual Report.
During five weeks in the period under review, the auditors conducted audits for the half-yearly financial statements, the internal control system (ICS) and the annual financial statements. The results were discussed with the members of Group Management.
In addition to the statutory report to the annual general meeting, the auditors also prepare a comprehensive report to the Board of Directors which, together with further findings and proposals for improvement, is presented to a meeting of the Risk and Audit Committee and discussed in detail. Specifically, the report for the 2016 financial year contained material findings on accounting, on the impact of estimation processes, on uncorrected audit differences, on the status of findings from previous years, as well as comments of the internal control system (ICS). The audit plan and details of its implementation, further findings from the year under review, as well as legal and regulatory developments were also disclosed to the Board of Directors. The Chairman of the Risk and Audit Committee conveyed the key findings of these discussions to the full Board of Directors.