New Wave Group AB Annual_report_2018_EN_HQ | Page 44

NWG // CORPORATE GOVERNANCE
Environmental policy
The Group’s environmental policy sets out guidelines
for the environmental work within the Group.
Anti-corruption policy
The Group’s anti-corruption policy describes the
Group’s principles for work against corruption.
Control activities
In order to ensure the internal control works, there
are both automatic controls in IT systems, which
handle authority and authorization rights, and
also manual controls in the form of reconciliations
and physical counts. Detailed economic analyses
of the result plus follow-up of plans and forecasts
supplement the controls and provide a general
confirmation of the quality of the reporting.
The Group performs reviews of the companies’
accounting, which are reported to Group mana-
gement. No CEO is permitted to appoint or dismiss
a finance manager, and finance managers’ report
directly to the Group’s CFO. The Group’s risks with
regard to financial reporting lay in the risk that
material misstatements may occur when reporting
the company’s status and financial results. The
company’s accounting instructions and manuals,
together with established follow up routines, serve
to minimize these risks.
Information and communication
The most important control documents in the form
of policies and instructions are updated regularly
and communicated via relevant channels electro-
nically and/or in printed form. For communication
with external parties, there is an information policy
which specifies guidelines for how this communi-
cation should take place. The purpose of the policy
is to ensure that all information obligations are
fulfilled correctly and in full.
Follow-up
Finance personnel and management at company
and Group level analyze the financial reporting in
detail every month. New Wave Group’s decentra-
lized corporate structure means that each company's
financial department is responsible for ensuring that
the financial reporting from each unit is correct,
complete and on time. The controls in respect of the
various processes and risk elements are evaluated by
means of self-assessment, internal Board meetings
044 // ANNUAL REPORT
and via the company’s external auditors. Several
processes are fully or partly centralized at Group
level, such as purchasing, logistics, payments,
financing, IT, consolidation and reporting. The
Group’s central finance organisation is respon-
sible for implementing, further developing and
maintaining the Group’s control routines, and for
performing internal controls of business critical
matters. The Board receives financial reports on
an ongoing basis, and at each Board meeting the
financial situation facing the Group and the various
companies is discussed. During the year the Board
also receives reports from the company’s auditors
detailing their observations.
The companies
New Wave Group’s organization is decentralized,
with a high degree of independence and self-
determination being delegated to company mana-
gement. The objective is for the companies to be run
in an entrepreneurial spirit, while at the same time
enjoying the benefits of belonging to a large group of
companies. The Group therefore consists of a large
number of operational companies, approximately
70 in total. Board meetings are normally held three
times a year in each company or sub-group. The
composition of the Boards depends on the company’s
direction and its stage of development. In addition
to Group management, the expertise of CEOs in
“mature” companies are utilized in the Boards of
local subsidiaries. The organizational model chosen
by New Wave Group provides for effective bench-
marking of profitability, tied-up capital and growth
between companies, brands and markets.
Operating segments
The Group divides its operations into three operating
segments: Corporate, Sports & Leisure, and Gifts
& Home Furnishings. Within Group management
there are people with responsibility for each opera-
tional segment in order to coordinate operations.
The products for each brand follow the operational
segments, but have separate sales teams for the
different sales channels, promo and retail.
Sales channels
The Group’s products are sold via two sales channels,
promo and retail.