8  Statutory auditors

8.1  Duration of the mandate and term of office of the lead auditor

The annual general meeting of 20 April 2018 elected Ernst & Young AG as auditors of Allreal Holding AG and all subsidiaries included in the scope of consolidation for the 2018 financial year.

Daniel Zaugg, Audit Partner, has performed the function of lead auditor since the mandate was assumed by Ernst & Young AG in 2013.

8.2  Audit fees

For 2018, audit fees of CHF 0.32 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.

8.3  Additional fees

For additional accounting advisory services required in 2018, Ernst & Young AG invoiced a Group company for CHF 0.025 million. This corresponds to 8.0% 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 page 29 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 2018 financial year contained key audit matters, 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 on the internal control system (ICS). The audit plan and details of its implementation as well as further findings from the year under review 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.