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F.4 Information and Communication.
Report, indicating the main characteristics, on the availability of at least:
F.4.1 A specific area responsible for defining and updating accounting policies (accounting policies area or department) and resolving queries
or conflicts arising from their interpretation, maintaining constant communication with those responsible for operations in the organisation,
and an updated manual of accounting policies communicated to the units through which the company operates.
The Financial Department is responsible for issuing and updating accounting policies and the resolution of queries or conflicts arising from their
interpretation.
The NH Group’s Organisation and Human Resources Department is responsible for standardising, analysing and publishing all the regulations
and procedures applicable within the department, particularly those dealing with operating, administrative (including accounting), quality and
regulatory matters.
The Internal Audit Department is responsible for reviewing the previously defined processes and procedures regularly, ensuring the control tasks
they include work and are correctly applied.
The Financial Department is responsible for defining and applying accounting criteria, checking that they are updated and approved.
To that end, the NH Group currently has a common Accounting Plan, and, in 2015, drew up a Manual of Accounting Policies and a Consolidation
Manual, applicable to all the countries in which the Group operates.
This body of regulations reflects the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS), which are the accounting standards by which the Group
is governed. The Group’s Financial Department is responsible for interpreting and applying regulations relating to Financial Reporting.
F.4.2 Mechanisms to capture and prepare financial reports with standardised formats, applicable and for use in all units of the company or the
Group, supported by the main financial statements and notes, and the information provided on the SCIIF.
The NH Group has a common consolidation tool for all the companies. This tool centralises all information relating to the accounts of the
companies making up the NH Group on a single system. Information is uploaded onto the consolidation system automatically, for the companies
that have migrated to SAP, or manually from the accounts management system for the remaining companies. Furthermore, preventive controls
have been defined on the tool itself which ensure data is uploaded correctly.
It is important to point out that the NH Group has a single Accounts Plan for the entire Group along with a common monthly reporting model for
all the Business Units, which includes the instructions laid down by the Corporate Finance Department for information that must be reported in
each one of the month ends, and which is subject to review. There is also a single reporting timetable which is common to all the Business Units.
F.5 Supervision of the system
Report, indicating the main characteristics of at least:
F.5.1 The supervision of the SCIIF by the Audit Committee and whether the company has an internal auditing area whose competency includes
supporting the committee in supervising the internal control system, including the SCIIF. It will also report the scope of the evaluation of the
SCIIF during the year and the procedure by which the body in charge of the evaluation will report its results, if the company has an action
plan which details possible corrective measures, and if its impact on financial reporting has been considered.
The Audit and Control Committee is the advisory body to which the Board of Directors has delegated its powers to update and supervise the
SCIIF. As part of this function and to fulfil the tasks delegated by the Board, the Committee receives and reviews the financial reports which the
NH Group issues to the markets and regulatory bodies, particularly the consolidated annual financial statements accompanied by the auditor’s
report. The Committee supervises the preparation process and the completeness of the financial reports of the Company and its subsidiaries,
and checks that the legal requirements applicable to the NH Group are complied with, the consolidation perimeter is appropriate and that
generally accepted accounting standards are applied correctly.
The Audit and Control Committee receives an annual report from the Internal Audit SVP on its assessment of the effectiveness of the SCIIF
model, the weaknesses detected during internal audits, and the plans or actions already in place to remedy any detected weaknesses.
The Committee supports and supervises the work of the internal audit department in its assessment of the SCIIF. The Committee proposes the
selection, appointment and replacement of the body or person responsible for internal audit services, validates and approves the internal audit
plan and objectives for the year, and is responsible for evaluating the performance of the Internal Audit Department.
The internal audit plan for assessing the SCIIF is presented to the Audit and Control Committee for final validation and approval before it is put
into practice, in order to include all the considerations of the Committee.
The level of implementation of the recommendations arising from the SCIIF is reviewed by the Audit and Control Committee at least once a year.
Audit and Control Committee proceedings are documented in the minutes of its meetings.
ANNUAL CORPORATE GOVERNANCE REPORT
