corporate governance report

1 Integrated

A necessary undertaking for public companies, an integrated audit entails the auditing of both financial statements and internal control over financial reporting. Necessarily conducted by an external auditor, integrated audits are advantageous in that they encourage a holistic approach to the internal auditing process.

2 Performance

Conducted by either an asset manager or an outside firm, a performance audit verifies performance figures with those demonstrated to the public. Beneficial in that a performance audit allows an accurate insight into a firm’s returns.

3 Quality

Quality audits entail the systematic examination of a quality system, undertaken by either an internal or external quality auditor. Quality audits are integral in determining compliance with a defined quality system process and are a necessary requirement in maintaining the ISO quality system standard.

4 Regular health checks

Regular health check audits are carried out for purposes in understanding the present state of a specific project. Primarily conducted by an independent party, regular health checks are intended to further increase productivity or otherwise effectiveness.

5 Energy

Energy audits consist of an inspection, survey and analysis of energy consumption. Largely intended for the bettering of energy conservation, input is often sought to be reduced though without the hindering of subsequent output. Energy audits are largely meant for reducing overheads.

6 Regulatory

Otherwise termed financial, regulatory audits are intended for assessing the legality of processes pertaining to financial operations. Encompassing management, collections and expenditure, regulatory audits seek to determine a true and fair representation of policy and financial management.

1 IBM

An organisation famed for valuing innovation and entrepreneurship, IBM helps its employees to give back to the community in the way they best see fit. IBM distributes Activity Kits, each one designed around different volunteering opportunities. For those who want to use their expertise to help educate others, there are kits advising on how to conduct workshops for adults who want to get into the industries IBM operates in. Employees wanting to inspire future generation can use kits to engage children in workshops that see students make anything from paper dog houses to solar-powered model cars. Or those who prefer a more hands-on approach they can volunteer to help in disaster zones.

2 Ford

According to Henry Ford, “A business that makes nothing but money is a poor business”. This inspired Ford’s Accelerated Action Day in 2012, which saw more than 600 employees in American branches step away from their desks to work in local community projects, supported by various charities. Volunteers were dispatched to shelters, schools and family centres, helping to clean, paint and build in their on-going renovation missions. Projects included renovating shelter rooms for the Salvation Army’s centre in Detroit, building houses with Habitat for Humanity and creating therapy rooms for children with the First Step Domestic Violence Program.

3 JP Morgan

JP Morgan engages in many community projects globally, but recent years have seen emphasise focused on improving education on both sides of the Atlantic. Last year they helped to fund Achieve Together, a drive to recruit and inspire good teachers in disadvantaged areas of the UK. The first phase of the programme will roll out later this year, estimating to help 8,000 pupils. 2010 saw the firm launch a $325m initiative to support publically-funded schools in the US. The company granted $50m to community-development financial institutions to support new schools, as well as helping to tackle the financial problems of schools that already have a strong academic track record to keep them afloat.

4 Coca-Cola

5by20 is Coca-Cola’s initiative to empower five million female entrepreneurs worldwide by 2020. The multinational aims to focus its efforts on the small businesses across the world, currently focusing on Brazil, South Africa, the Philippines and India, by providing training with financial resources and mentors to women looking to get ahead in business. Since launching the program in 2010, Coca-Cola claim to have economically enabled more than 131,000 women. As part of the program, a new initiative in Kenya has helped female farmers grow mangoes for locally sold fruit juices, which has in turn helped create sustainable livelihoods around the farms.

5 Johnson and Johnson

As part of Johnson and Johnson’s No More Tears brand’s 50th anniversary, its Clean Water Initiative was launched as a combined effort with non-profit charity Water for People. Operating under the slogan “Because every baby deserves clean water”, the program has aided small, rural communities in ten of world’s poorest countries, including Malawi and West Bengal to tackle water contamination. The charity not only educates communities but also installs sanitation facilities in schools to provide clean water to hundreds of thousands of children.