Policy
The Trustee is committed to ensuring the Scheme’s objectives are met by managing risk effectively using effective decision making processes and by adopting pension industry “best practice” where this is appropriate for the Scheme.
The Trustee has a Governance & Audit Committee with the following key duties and responsibilities:
- To identify risks to the Scheme.
- To review the management of these risks and to propose improvements.
- To document and audit Scheme decision making processes and practice.
- To review the performance of the Trustee, its committees, the Scheme’s administrators and its advisers in meeting the Scheme’s governance standards.
- To obtain advice and to make recommendations to the Trustee in relation to Scheme governance.
- To review and approve work undertaken by the Scheme’s auditors.
Trustee policies
The Trustee has formalised the Scheme’s policies in relation to such items as Trustee training, the appointment and review of professional advisers, the delegation of authorities and action regarding fraud. It ensures adherence to these policies by audit and review undertaken by professional external auditors.
The management of Scheme risk
The Trustee has overall responsibility for internal control and risk management. It is committed to identifying, evaluating and managing risk and to implementing and maintaining control procedures to reduce significant risks to an acceptable level.
This is undertaken by the use of a “Risk Register” that identifies and prioritises risk and then formulates mitigating action to reduce the overall Scheme risk. This register is reviewed regularly by the Governance & Audit Committee.
The objective of the Trustee’s risk policy is to limit the exposure of the Scheme’s assets for which it is responsible and to safeguard the Scheme against financial, operational, compliance and other risks.
Audit function and processes
A financial audit is performed annually by the Scheme’s auditors (Ernst & Young LLP) who report initially to the Governance & Audit Committee and where appropriate to the full Trustee Board on any issues that arise from this audit.
|
