Int ernal Control P ro vide s As surance Securit as ’ internal control sys tem is designed to mana g e , r ather than eliminate , the risk of failin g to achie v e business objectiv es. The sys tem pro vides reason - able , but not absolute , assur ance a gains t material miss t atement or loss. Control en vironment The k e y features of the control en vironment include: the clear terms of reference for the Boar d and each of its commit tees, a clear or ganizational s tructure , with documented dele gation of authorit y from the Boar d to President and CEO and further to Group M ana g ement , the competence of emplo y ees and a series of Group policies, procedures and fr amew orks. The Group oper ates in a fat and decentr aliz ed or ganization, where mana g er s are g iv en clear objectiv es and authoriz ed to mak e their o wn deci- sions and de v elop their oper ations tog ether with the cus tomer s. F or more inf ormation on the man­ agement model, ref er t o page s 48–51 . Dele gation of authorit y is documented in an appro v al matrix, which pro vides clear directions for mana g er s at all le v els. Emphasis lies on the competence and abilities of the Group ’ s emplo y ees, with continuin g educa- tion, tr ainin g and de v elopment activ ely encour a g ed throug h a wide v ariet y of schemes and progr ams. The Group has three fundament al v alues – Inte grit y , V ig ilance and Helpfulness – to help its emplo y ees e x ercise g ood jud gment and mak e decisions on a consis tent basis. The Group ’ s ma jor fnancial policies, procedures and fr amew orks include a comprehensiv e manual, Group policies and guidelines, a reportin g manual and Securit as ’ model for fnancial control (for more det ailed information on the model, refer to pa g es 50–51). These are all periodically re view ed and updated. Risk assessment At the hig hes t le v el, the Boar d consider s where future s tr ate g ic opportunities and risks lie , and helps shape the corpor ate s tr ate gy . A balanced and focused risk mana g ement is necessar y for the fulfllment of Securit as ’ s tr ate g ies and the achie v ement of its corpor ate objectiv es. Enterprise risk mana g ement (ERM) is an inte gr al component of Securit as ’ oper ations, and risk a w areness is part of the compan y culture . The ERM process is described on the follo win g pa g e . Account abilit y for mana g in g risks is clearly assigned to Group , divisional and local mana g ements. Group M ana g ement has the da y -to-da y responsi- bilit y for the identifcation, e v aluation and mana g e - ment of risks, and for the implement ation and maintenance of control sys tems in accor dance with the Boar d’ s policies. Specifcally , divisional mana g e - ment and es t ablished functional commit tees are responsible for ensurin g that a process for creatin g risk a w areness e xis ts throug hout the division. The divisional presidents are responsible for all aspects of the oper ations in their divisions, includin g oper a- tional risk mana g ement and risk minimization. Oper atin g unit mana g er s and countr y risk man- a g er s are responsible for ensurin g that risk mana g e - ment is part of the local corpor ate culture at all le v els within a countr y . T o be successful, all of Securit as ’ br anch mana g - er s mus t under s t and the risks associated with pro- vidin g ser vices and be able to assess and control these risks. Securit as w orks activ ely with diferent risk mana g ement activities to increase a w areness and kno wled g e . RISK RE SP ONSIBILITIE S Principal activities Br anch / area Countr y / division Group Risk assessment ¦ ¦ ¦ Contr act mana g ement ¦ ¦ ¦ Loss pre v ention ¦ ¦ Claims set tlement ¦ ¦ Insur ance purchasin g ¦ Procedures are in place to ensure that signifcant risks and control failures are con v e y ed to Group M ana g ement and the Boar d, as required, on a periodic basis. 40 Securit as Annual R eport 2012 G o v ernance and mana g ement Boar d of Director s ’ report on corpor ate g o v ernance and internal control