2021 Universal Registration Document

• transposing international standards and guidelines into Group operational requirements.

In the field of risk management, the Compliance & Risks Department, which reports to the Legal & Regulatory Affairs Department, is tasked with:

• ensuring the appropriateness of insurance coverage in relation to the risks incurred by the Group;
• mapping the Group’s major risks in collaboration with the Internal Audit teams;
• monitoring the regulations mentioned in section 1.5.2 of this document (notably payment services and e-money) that may have an impact on Edenred’s programs;
• providing the Group’s subsidiaries with all the support they need to understand these regulations and their impact on programs and organizations.

 

4.4.4 Internal communication of information and procedures related to accounting and financial information

The Group ensures that relevant information is communicated in a timely manner to all persons concerned by the system of internal control so that they can perform their duties in accordance with the Group’s standards. To this end, a set of procedures describing best practices and reporting processes has been circulated internally.

Internal controls over accounting and financial information are designed to provide assurance that:

• the financial information produced by consolidated subsidiaries is reliable and that the financial information published by the Group is fairly stated and complies with the true and fair view principle; and
• adequate safeguards are in place to protect against the risk of errors, inaccuracies or omissions in the Group’s financial statements.

Edenred refers to the AMF’s Internal Control Reference Framework and the guide to its application to internal controls over accounting and financial information.

 

4.4.4.1 Corporate values and principles

The Group’s internal control system forms part of the corporate values expressed by the Board of Directors and Executive Management and communicated to all employees. Rules of conduct and integrity have been drawn up covering the areas of employee behavior and relations with customers, shareholders, business partners and competitors.

 

4.4.4.2 Procedure manuals and accounting principles

A Finance Manual is issued to all Group Finance Departments, describing:

• the closing process for the monthly management accounts;
• the layout of the Group’s charts of accounts;
• consolidation principles and accounting standards and policies used by the Group.

The manual also includes the Treasury Charter, which describes:

• cash management procedures;
• the principles to be followed concerning the holding of payment instruments and the approval of expenditures;
• the role and organization of cash pooling systems.

A presentation of International Accounting Standards/International Financial Reporting Standards has been prepared by the Group Accounting Department and made available to all Group employees concerned.

Lastly, consolidation instructions detailing the financial reporting schedule and specific adjustments to be made to the subsidiaries’ local financial statements are issued every six months to the various Finance Directors and consolidation teams. They are archived on the dedicated intranet.

The subsidiaries’ consolidation packages, including adjustments to comply with Group policies, are prepared by the local accounting teams using as a reference the Group Finance Manual, which describes the accounting recognition and measurement rules. The manual presents the basic concepts applied for:

• the preparation of the financial statements, such as the going concern principle;
• accounting periods;
• reliability concepts.

It is regularly updated to reflect changes in French laws and regulations governing the preparation of consolidated financial statements.

The Finance Manual also describes in detail Group principles for the recognition, measurement and presentation of the main financial statement items, including:

• descriptions and definitions of income statement items, and the consistency tests to be performed such as the tax proof;
• rules governing the recognition and presentation of balance sheet and off-balance sheet items;
• rules governing the measurement of certain items based on estimates;
• accounting and reporting principles for intra-group transactions.