Governance Information • Apr 17, 2018
Governance Information
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Pursuant to Article 123-bis of the TUF
Name of Issuer: SABAF S.p.A. Website: www.sabaf.it Report financial year: 2017 Report approval date: 26 March 2018
| TABLE OF CONTENTS 2 | ||
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| GLOSSARY 4 | ||
| 1. | ISSUER PROFILE 5 | |
| 2. | INFORMATION on the OWNERSHIP STRUCTURES (pursuant to Art. 123-bis, (1), TUF) as of 26.03.2018 7 |
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| a) | Structure of the share capital (pursuant to Art. 123-bis (1)(a) TUF) 7 |
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| b) | Restrictions on the transfer of financial instruments (pursuant to Art. 123-bis (1)(b) TUF) 7 |
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| c) | Major shareholdings (pursuant to Art. 123-bis (1)(c) TUF) 7 |
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| d) | Financial instruments granting special rights (pursuant to Art. 123-bis (1)(d) TUF) 7 |
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| e) | Employee stock plans: mechanism for the exercise of voting rights (pursuant to Art. 123- bis (1)(e) TUF) 8 |
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| f) | Restrictions on voting rights (pursuant to Art. 123-bis (1)(f) TUF) 8 |
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| g) | Shareholders' agreements (pursuant to Art. 123-bis (1)(g) TUF) 8 |
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| h) | Change of control clauses (pursuant to Art. 123-bis (1)(h) TUF) and statutory provisions for takeovers (pursuant to Arts. 104, (1-ter), and 104-bis, (1)) 9 |
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| i) | Delegations of powers for recapitalisation and authorisations for buyback of treasury stock (pursuant to Art. 123-bis, (1)(m) TUF) 9 |
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| l) | Management and coordination activities (pursuant to Art. 2497 and ff. of the Italian Civil Code.) 9 |
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| 3. | COMPLIANCE (pursuant to Art. 123-bis, (2)(a) TUF) 11 | |
| 4. | BOARD OF DIRECTORS 12 | |
| 4.1. | APPOINTMENT AND REPLACEMENT (pursuant to art. 123-bis (1)(l) TUF) 12 | |
| 4.2. | COMPOSITION (pursuant to art. 123-bis, (2), (d) and (d-bis), TUF) 13 | |
| 4.3. 4.4. |
ROLE OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS (pursuant to art. 123-bis, (2), (d), TUF) 21 DELEGATED BODIES 23 |
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| 4.5. | OTHER EXECUTIVE DIRECTORS 25 | |
| 4.6. | INDEPENDENT DIRECTORS 25 | |
| 4.7. | LEAD INDEPENDENT DIRECTOR 26 | |
| 5. | HANDLING OF CORPORATE INFORMATION 27 | |
| 6. | INTERNAL COMMITTEES OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS (pursuant to art. 123- bis, (2)(d) TUF) 28 |
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| 7. | REMUNERATION AND NOMINATION COMMITTEE 29 | |
| 8. | REMUNERATION OF DIRECTORS 32 | |
| 9. | CONTROL AND RISK COMMITTEE 33 | |
| 10. | 10.1. 10.2. |
INTERNAL CONTROL AND RISK MANAGEMENT SYSTEM 36 DIRECTOR IN CHARGE OF THE INTERNAL CONTROL AND RISK MANAGEMENT SYSTEM 41 HEAD OF INTERNAL AUDIT 42 |
| 10.3. | ORGANISATIONAL MODEL pursuant to Legislative Decree 231/2001 43 |
|---|---|
| 10.4. | INDEPENDENT AUDITORS REGULATORY AUDIT 44 |
| 10.5. | MANAGER RESPONSIBLE FOR THE PREPARATION OF THE CORPORATE FINANCIAL |
| DOCUMENTS 45 | |
| 10.6. | COORDINATION BETWEEN PERSONS INVOLVED IN THE INTERNAL CONTROL AND RISK |
| MANAGEMENT SYSTEM 46 | |
| 11. | DIRECTORS' INTERESTS AND TRANSACTIONS WITH RELATED PARTIES 48 |
| 12. | APPOINTMENT OF STATUTORY AUDITORS 49 |
| 13. | COMPOSITION AND OPERATION OF THE BOARD OF STATUTORY AUDITORS (pursuant to art. 231-bis, (2)(d) and (d-bis), TUF) 51 |
| 14. | SHAREHOLDER RELATIONS 55 |
| 15. | SHAREHOLDERS' MEETINGS (pursuant to Art. 123-bis, (2)(c) TUF) 56 |
| 16. | OTHER CORPORATE GOVERNANCE PRACTICES (pursuant to Art. 123-bis, (2)(c) TUF) 58 |
Shareholders' Meeting: the Shareholders' Meeting of Sabaf S.p.A.
Civ. Cod./c.c.: the Italian Civil Code.
Code/Corporate Governance Code: the Corporate Governance Code of listed companies approved in July 2015 by the Corporate Governance Committee and recommended by Borsa Italiana S.p.A., ABI, Ania, Assogestioni, Assonime and Confindustria.
Board of Directors: the Board of Directors of Sabaf S.p.A.
Issuer: Sabaf S.p.A, i.e. the issuer of transferable securities to which the Report refers.
Financial year: the company financial year 2017 to which the Report refers.
Group: the Sabaf Group (Sabaf S.p.A. and its subsidiaries).
Law on Savings/Law 262/2005: Law 262 of 28 December 2005 concerning "Provisions for the protection of savings and discipline of financial markets".
Stock Exchange Regulations: the Regulations of Markets organised and managed by Borsa Italiana S.p.A.
Consob Issuers' Regulation: the Regulations issued by Consob pursuant to Resolution 11971 of 1999 (as successively amended) on issuers.
CONSOB Markets' Regulation: the Regulations issued by Consob pursuant to Resolution 16191 of 2007 (as successively amended) on markets.
Consob Related Party Regulation: the Regulations issued by Consob pursuant to resolution 17221 of 12 March 2010 (as successively amended) on related-party transactions.
Report: the report on corporate governance and ownership structure that companies must prepare pursuant to Article 123-bis of the TUF.
Company: Sabaf S.p.A., hereinafter also referred to as Sabaf.
Bylaws: the Bylaws approved by the Shareholders' Meeting of Sabaf S.p.A.
Testo Unico della Finanza/TUF: Legislative Decree 58 of 24 February 1998.
Sabaf's entrepreneurial model is rendered explicit in its corporate vision, i.e. to combine business decisions and results with ethical values by going beyond family capitalism and opting for a managerial rationale oriented not only towards the creation of value but also towards the respect of values.
The Corporate Governance Model adopted by the Issuer is based, initially, on the decision to strictly separate the interests and choices of the main shareholder – the Saleri family – from those of the Company and the Group, and therefore assign corporate management to managers who are distinct from the main shareholder.
Expansion of the shareholding base following the listing on the stock exchange, admission to the STAR segment (and consequently the Company's voluntary acceptance of stricter transparency and disclosure rules), and the Company's desire to consistently comply with applicable corporate governance recommendations and best practice represent the subsequent steps taken by Sabaf towards compliance by its corporate governance system with a model whose benchmark is that directors act in the Company's interest and with a view to creating value for all the shareholders.
As a further step along this path, Sabaf's management believes that ethics founded on the centrality of the individual and respect for common values, set at the head of the creation of value, are able to help take decisions that are in line with the corporate culture and significantly contribute to assuring the Company's sustainable long-term growth. For this purpose, Sabaf has prepared and published the Charter of Values, prepared in accordance with the existing national and international regulatory principles, guidelines and documents with regard to human rights of corporate social responsibility and Corporate Governance. The document is the governance tool through which Sabaf clearly explains the Company's values, standards of conduct and commitments in relations with all the stakeholders – shareholders, employees, customers, suppliers, financiers, the Public Administration, the community and the environment.
The Charter of Values was approved by the Board of Directors on 11 February 2014 and is available on the website www.sabaf.it under the section "Sustainability".
In line with the Company's "vision" and in accordance with the Charter of Values, the strategic and operational decisions implemented by the Sabaf Group are intended to ensure sustainable development, by balancing business and financial requirements with social and environmental needs.
Sabaf has adopted a traditional management and control model, consisting of:
The share capital of Sabaf S.p.A., fully subscribed and paid, is € 11,533,450 and composed of 11,533,450 ordinary shares with a nominal value of 1.00 euro per share.
The Company has not issued other financial instruments that grant the right to subscribed new issue shares. As of the date of this report, there are no stock option plans outstanding.
There are no restrictions on the transfer of financial instruments.
On the basis of the disclosures made pursuant to Art. 120 of the TUF and the other information available to the Company, shareholders owning more than 5% of the share capital are listed as follows:
| TABLE 1 – MAJOR SHAREHOLDINGS | ||
|---|---|---|
| -- | ------------------------------- | -- |
| MAJOR SHAREHOLDINGS | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Declarant | Direct shareholder | % share of ordinary share capital |
% share of voting share capital |
||||||
| Saleri Giuseppe | Giuseppe Saleri S.a.p.A. | 23.985% | 23.985% | ||||||
| Quaestio Capital SGR S.p.A. |
Quaestio Capital SGR S.p.A. | 20.000% | 20.000% | ||||||
| NN Group NV | Delta Lloyd Asset Management NV | 9.984% | 9.984% | ||||||
| Bulgarelli Claudio | FIN TEL S.r.l. | 7.369% | 7.369% |
On 28 April 2016, the Shareholders' Meeting approved the amendment of the Sabaf Bylaws, with the introduction of the "increase of voting rights" pursuant to Art. 127 quinquies of Legislative Decree 58/1998, through the insertion of the new articles 5-bis, 5 ter and 5-quarter.
In particular, the attribution of two votes is provided for each ordinary share held on a permanent basis for at least twenty-four (24) months from the date of effectiveness of the enrolment in the "Special List" (referred to in Art. 5-quarter of the Bylaws). This list includes - at their request - the subjects who have requested the increase of the voting rights.
At the date of this report, the following shareholders with holdings greater than 5% are enrolled in the Special List:
| Parent company |
Shareholder | Number of shares enrolled |
% of share capital |
Enrolment date |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Quaestio Investments S.A. |
Quamvis S.C.A. SICAV FIS |
2,306,690 | 20% | 01/08/2016 | |
| Saleri Giuseppe | Giuseppe Saleri S.a.p.A. |
2,766,313 | 23.985% | from 0/10/2016 to 05/02/2018 |
The introduction of the increased voting rights derives from the desire of the Company to encourage investment in the medium-long term, ensuring the stability of the shareholding structure.
Through the mandate of the Shareholders' Meeting on 9 June 2016, the Board of Directors of the Company resolved on the adoption of a regulation for the management of the special list, published on the company website www.sabaf.it, under the section "Investors - Corporate Governance".
e) Employee stock plans: mechanism for the exercise of voting rights (pursuant to Art. 123- bis (1)(e) TUF)
No mechanisms for the exercise of voting rights by employee shareholders exist.
f) Restrictions on voting rights (pursuant to Art. 123-bis (1)(f) TUF)
There are no restrictions on voting rights.
A shareholders' agreement (tacitly renewed until 12 January 2016 and valid until 8 January 2019) is in effect for Giuseppe Saleri S.a.p.A., the main shareholder of Sabaf S.p.A. This agreement was made by Cinzia Saleri, born in Brescia on 18 December 1961, Gianbattista Saleri, born in Brescia on 13 November 1963, Ettore Saleri, born in Brescia on 24 April 1973, Giuseppe Saleri, born in Lumezzane on 21 August 1931, Flavio Gnecchi, born in Brescia on 15 March 1956 and Mario Mazzoleni, born in Milan on 24 January 1957. It was notified, filed and published in accordance with the law and governs the entire shareholdings held by each one in Giuseppe Saleri S.a.p.A., representing 100% of the share capital. The main purpose of the shareholders' agreement is to coordinate management of the equity investment in Sabaf S.p.A.
On 31 December 2017, the shareholders' agreement signed on 21 January 2016 between Giuseppe Saleri S.a.p.A. and Quaestio Capital Management S.G.R. S.p.A. was terminated due to the expiry of the last commitment envisaged by the Agreement, i.e. the commitment assumed by Quaestio, until 31 December 2017, not to sell the equity investments of Sabaf S.p.A., originally acquired under a purchase agreement by Giuseppe Saleri S.a.p.A.
Sabaf S.p.A.'s subsidiaries did not sign any agreements that take effect, are amended or are invalidated by the change of control of the contracting company.
The Company's Bylaws do not make provisions for exemptions with regard to company takeover on the passivity rule pursuant to Art. 104, paragraph 1-ter of the TUF or the application of the rules pursuant to Art. 104-bis, paragraph 1 of the TUF.
Sabaf S.p.A. has no delegations in place for share capital increases.
.
The Shareholders' Meeting of 27 April 2017 resolved to withdraw, for the part not yet executed, the buyback deed of treasury shares assumed during the session held on 28 April 2016, and, at the same time, to authorise a programme of buyback of treasury shares with a duration of 18 months. The Shareholders' Meeting approved the possibility of organising the treasury shares on a rolling basis, establishing limits and conditions.
The Shareholders' Meeting has therefore granted to the Board of Directors of Sabaf, with express authority of delegating to one or more of its members, powers to implement the resolution. The Board of Directors during the session held on 27 April 2017 gave a mandate to the Director Gianluca Beschi to implement the buyback of treasury shares programme, within the time limits set by the Shareholders' Meeting resolution.
The programme for the buyback of treasury shares has the objective of:
For details concerning the above resolution, see the Shareholders' Meeting minutes of 27 April 2017 available on the company website www.sabaf.it, under the section "Investors - Shareholders' Meetings".
In the context of the buyback programme resolved by the Shareholders' Meeting, the Company has purchased globally 148,630 Sabaf shares throughout 2017. At 31 December 2017, the Company holds 381,769 treasury shares, equal to 3.310% of the share capital.
l) Management and coordination activities (pursuant to Art. 2497 and ff. of the Italian Civil Code.)
Sabaf S.p.A. is not subject to management and coordination by other subjects.
In 2006, the Company adhered to the Corporate Governance Code, approved by the Corporate Governance Committee of Borsa Italiana (available to the public on Borsa Italiana's website on the Corporate Governance Committee's page http://www.borsaitaliana.it/comitato-corporate-governance/codice/codice.htm).
The Board of Directors of Sabaf S.p.A. confirmed the Company's adhesion to the Code also by adopting a Corporate Governance Manual. This manual sets forth the principles, rules and operating procedures that will enable the Company to comply with the Code's recommendations.
This Corporate Governance Manual, adopted by Board resolution of 19 December 2006, has been updated several times over the years, in order to reflect changes in laws and regulations regarding corporate governance, as well as best practices adopted by the Company. The latest version of the document, approved by the Board of Directors on 29 September 2016, is available on the Company website, at www.sabaf.it under the "Investors - Corporate Governance" section.
The Corporate Governance Manual of Sabaf S.p.A. includes some operating guidelines, also approved by the Board of Directors, prepared for the purpose of the correct performance of the activities pertaining to Sabaf's management and control bodies. More specifically, the guidelines govern:
Please note that this report on corporate governance and ownership structure is made available on the Company website at: www.sabaf.it under the section "Investors - Corporate Governance".
*** *** ***
Sabaf S.p.A. and its subsidiaries are not subject to foreign laws that might have an impact on the Corporate Governance structure.
According to the Company Bylaws, directors hold office for the period established at the time of their appointment, but in any case for not more than three years, and may be reelected.
In particular, the Bylaws envisage that:
The Board of Directors is vested with the widest powers of ordinary and extraordinary management. Thus it is vested with all the powers required to achieve the company objects, excluding only those that the law or the Bylaws reserve to the Shareholders' Meeting. Without prejudice to the limits imposed by the law, the Board of Directors may also resolve on the following matters:
The Board of Directors can, in any case, decide at any time to remit the above resolutions to the competence of the Shareholders' Meeting.
At the moment, the Board of Directors has not deemed it necessary to adopt a plan for the succession of executive directors.
The Shareholders' Meeting in the session of 20 April 2017 has proposed and then approved the increase in the number of Directors on the Board, bringing it from 11 (eleven) to 12 (twelve). Therefore, on the basis of the results of the shareholders' voting, the Board of Directors has been integrated with one component: Pietro Iotti, who shall remain in office until the expiry of the mandate of the current Board of Directors (i.e. until the approval of the financial statements at 31 December 2017). This decision is the result of the resignation, on 23 January 2017, of the office of Director and Chief Executive Officer by Alberto Bartoli, appointed by the Ordinary Shareholders' Meeting of 5 May 2015.
The Board of Directors currently in office is therefore composed of the following twelve (12) members: Giuseppe Saleri (Chairman), Cinzia Saleri, Ettore Saleri and Roberta Forzanini (Vice Chairmen), Pietro Iotti (Chief Executive Officer), Gianluca Beschi (Director) and eight non-executive Directors (Renato Camodeca, Giuseppe Cavalli, Fausto Gardoni, Anna Pendoli, Nicla Picchi, Alessandro Potestà).
Please note that at its meeting held on 14 February 2017, the Board of Directors confirmed that the non-executive directors in office (Renato Camodeca, Giuseppe Cavalli, Fausto Gardoni, Nicla Picchi and Anna Pendoli) have fulfilled the independence requisites set forth by the TUF and the Corporate Governance Code of listed companies.
In its current composition, the Board of Directors of Sabaf meets the legal requirements regarding "Gender equality in the composition of boards of administration and control", as defined by the Consob regulation adopted through resolution 18098 of 8 February 2012 and Art. 147-ter, (1- ter) of the TUF.
The main qualifications of the directors in office are listed below:
The full curricula vitae of all the directors are available for examination on the Company's website www.sabaf.it, in the "Investors - Corporate Governance" section.
| TABLE 2 – STRUCTURE OF THE |
BOARD OF DIRECTORS |
AND ITS COMMITTEES |
|---|---|---|
| ---------------------------------------- | -------------------------- | -------------------------- |
| Board of Directors | Committee for Control and Risks |
Remuneration and Nomination Committee |
||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Office | Members | Year of birth |
Date of first appointme nt4 |
In office from |
In office until |
List 5 | Exec. | Non exec. |
Indep. pursuan t to Code |
Indep. pursuan t to TUF |
Number of other offices6 |
7 | 7 | 8 | 7 | 8 |
| Chairman | Giuseppe Saleri | 21/08/1931 | 1993 | 05/05/2015 | 2018 | M | X | 1 | 100% | |||||||
| Chief Executive Officer1.2 |
Pietro Iotti | 25/06/1966 | 2017 | 01/08/2017 | 2018 | n/a | X | 0 | 100% | |||||||
| Vice Chairman | Ettore Saleri | 24/04/1973 | 2006 | 05/05/2015 | 2018 | M | X | 1 | 78% | |||||||
| Vice Chairman | Cinzia Saleri | 18/12/1961 | 2012 | 05/05/2015 | 2018 | M | X | 1 | 100% | |||||||
| Vice Chairman | Roberta Forzanini | 03/09/1964 | 2015 | 05/05/2015 | 2018 | M | X | 0 | 89% | |||||||
| Director | Gianluca Beschi | 11/12/1968 | 2015 | 05/05/2015 | 2018 | M | X | 0 | 100% | |||||||
| Director | Nicla Picchi | 12/07/1960 | 2012 | 05/05/2015 | 2018 | M | X | X | X | 2 | 89% | 100% | P | |||
| Director | Giuseppe Cavalli | 07/11/1960 | 2009 | 05/05/2015 | 2018 | M | X | X | X | 2 | 89% | 80% | M | 90% | M | |
| Director | Fausto Gardoni | 17/12/1942 | 2009 | 05/05/2015 | 2018 | M | X | X | X | 0 | 100% | 100% | P | |||
| Director | Anna Pendoli | 25/12/1974 | 2015 | 05/05/2015 | 2018 | M | X | X | X | 0 | 89% | |||||
| Director3 | Renato Camodeca | 28/11/1966 | 2012 | 05/05/2015 | 2018 | M | X | X | X | 2 | 100% | 100% | M | 90% | M | |
| Director | Alessandro Potestà | 16/01/1968 | 2016 | 28/04/2016 | 2018 | n/a | X | 3 | 100% | 100% | M |
| ------------------------------------- DIRECTORS NO LONGER IN OFFICE DURING THE YEAR UNDER REVIEW ------------------------------------------------------ |
||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Office | Members | Year of birth |
Date of first appointme nt4 |
In office from |
In office until |
List 5 | Exec. | Non exec. |
Indep. pursuan t to Code |
Indep. pursuan t to TUF |
Number of other offices6 |
7 | 7 | 8 | 7 | 8 |
| Chief Executive Officer |
Alberto Bartoli | 06/06/1960 | 1997 | 05/05/2015 | 2018 | M | X | 0 | 100% |
| Number of meetings held during the year under review: | BOD:9 | ICRC: 5 | CRN: 10 | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Quorum required for the presentation of the lists for the latest appointment: 2.5% of the share capital with voting rights at the Ordinary Shareholders' Meeting |
1 Director in charge of the Internal Control and Risk Management System.
Main person in charge of managing the issuer (Chief Executive Officer or CEO).
Lead Independent Director (LID).
The date each director was first appointed refers to the date on which the director was appointed for the first time by the Board of Directors of the issuer.
List from which each director is taken) ("M": majority list; "m": minority list; "BoD": list presented by the BoD).
Number of positions as director or statutory auditor held by the concerned subject at other companies listed in regulated markets, also overseas, in financial, banking, insurance companies or very large companies.
Attendance of directors at BoD and committee meetings, respectively (number of meetings they have taken part in with respect to the total number of meetings they could have taken part in)
Qualification of the director within the Committee: "P": chairman; "M": member.
On 26 March 2018, the Board of Directors of Sabaf S.p.A. at the suggestion of the Remuneration and Nomination Committee, with the opinion of the Board of Statutory Auditors, adopted a Policy on the composition of the Corporate Bodies.
This Policy sets out the Company's guidelines on the characteristics considered functional to ensuring an optimal composition of the corporate bodies (Board of Directors and Board of Statutory Auditors), with the aim of guiding the names put forward by the Shareholders when renewing the Corporate Bodies, so that the benefits that can derive from a balanced composition of the Board and Board of Statutory Auditors inspired by criteria of diversity are taken into consideration.
In addition to the provisions of the Laws in force and of Sabaf's Bylaws, the Policy sets out the characteristics and factors considered necessary for the BoD to be able to carry out its assigned tasks more efficiently, take decisions thanks to the contribution of a number of qualified points of view and examine the issues under discussion from different perspectives, also within the framework of the internal board committees established from time to time. Specifically:
o economic and financial, ability to analyse and interpret financial statement data prepared in accordance with international accounting standards and to evaluate extraordinary transactions;
o business and managerial, in the sector in which the Group operates or in adjacent sectors, in the management of international companies, in merger and acquisition transactions;
Furthermore, the Policy stresses the need for all Directors to ensure that they have sufficient time to perform their duties diligently and, for this reason, refers to the guidelines adopted by the Board of Directors on the maximum number of positions held in other companies (for more details, see the next paragraph).
The Board of Directors, with the support of the Remuneration and Nomination Committee and the Board of Statutory Auditors, is responsible for monitoring the implementation of the Policy, the results of which will be analysed starting with the renewal of the Corporate Bodies envisaged during the Shareholders' Meeting convened on 8 May 2018.
The Policy on the composition of the Corporate Bodies is published on the company website at www.sabaf.it, under the section "Investors - Corporate Governance".
To ensure that the position of director is held by subjects that can devote the necessary time to diligently perform their duties, by resolution passed on 28 April 2006 renewed in 2009 and at the meeting of 12 May 2015, and as provided by the Corporate Governance Manual the Board of Directors defined the maximum number of positions as director or statutory auditor that each director may hold at companies listed on regulated markets (also overseas), as well as at financial, banking, insurance or other large companies, also taking account of the fact that they may also be members of the various Committees established within the same Board of Directors.
Specifically:
• for executive directors, the maximum number of positions is 3, not including the offices held within the Group;
• for non-executive directors: a maximum of seven offices, not counting the positions held at the financial companies envisaged in Art. 113 of the Italian Consolidated Banking Act ("Testo Unico Bancario").
The Board of Directors confirmed compliance with the above-mentioned criteria for the directors currently in office at its meeting held on 26 March 2018.
Below we disclose the offices held by current Sabaf directors as directors or statutory auditors of other listed companies, financial, banking and/or insurance companies, and/or large companies.
The Chairman of the Board of Directors ensures that, after their appointment and during their term of office, the directors and the statutory auditors take part in initiatives, in the most appropriate forms, aimed at providing them with adequate knowledge of the activity sector in which the Company operates, the enterprise dynamics and their evolution, the principles of proper risk management, as well as the relevant regulatory framework.
In 2017, the Company continued with the introduction programme so as to offer the opportunity to members of the Board of Directors and the Board of Statutory Auditors to improve their knowledge of the issuer and its subsidiaries.
In particular, during the meeting of the Board of Directors on 26 September 2017, the directors and statutory auditors visited the production facilities, accompanied by the Production Director and the Technical Director, to visit the plants and personally view the technical and organisational innovations launched by the Group in the field of production management in view of industry 4.0.
Moreover, during the meeting of the Board of Directors on 3 August 2017, the Company invited some external consultants to explain to the members of the Board of Directors and the Board of Statutory Auditors the trends of the main macroeconomic indicators at Italian and European level.
Please note that the induction sessions were held during regularly minuted meetings.
The Board of Directors met nine times during the 2017 financial year. The meetings lasted an average of two hours. The percentages of the participation of each director at the meetings are shown in Table 2 of paragraph 4.2.
Seven meetings are planned for 2018, of which eight have already been held, on 13 February and 26 March, the date of this report.
In order to enable the Board of Directors to carry out its duties with an adequate level of organisation and to carry out a preliminary in-depth examination of the items on the agenda, the Lead Independent Director helps the Chairman ensuring that, given the date set for the Board meeting, the documentation concerning the items on the agenda is communicated to the Directors with reasonable notice, via email and protected by password (usually three or more days' notice)1.
During the year, the introductory preliminary documentation for the board meetings, including the risk assessment document and the audit plan for 2018, was sent to the Directors by email usually three or more days in advance.
The meetings of the Board of Directors, coordinated and presided over by the Chairman, are always attended by the members of the Board of Statutory Auditors and the managers of Sabaf and other group companies, in charge of the relevant corporate functions concerned by the topics dealt with, invited by the Chairman, also upon request by one or more directors and with the consent of those attending, to provide the necessary in-depth analyses in relation to the items on the agenda. The meetings of the Board of Director are regularly minuted.
In the course of 2017, the Board of Directors met the following heads of the corporate functions:
Massimo Dora (Technical Director),
The Board of Directors is responsible for the examination and approval of the long-term plans and the budgets of the Company and the Group, as well as for periodically monitoring their implementation through the information supplied by the CEO in his quarterly reports. In this regard, the Board of Directors viewed and evaluated the risks underlying these plans and the budget and assessed the compatible level of risk, also with reference to the risks that may assume significance in terms of medium-/long-term sustainability.
1 With the exception of the evaluation of cases of unforeseen situations of necessity or urgency that require the prior information to be limited. In these cases, the Chairman ensures that adequate examinations are carried out during board meetings.
The Board of Directors is also responsible for the definition of the Company's corporate governance system as well as the structure of the Group pertaining to Sabaf.
For 2017, in compliance with the Guideline on the subject, the Board of Directors assessed the overall adequacy of the general organisational, administrative and accounting structure of the Company and its key subsidiaries, as established by the Internal Control and Risk Committee, with particular reference to the Internal Control and Risk Management System. More specifically, the process involved all the corporate players in charge of planning, implementing and/or monitoring the Group's Internal Control and Risk Management System, by collecting the information supporting the evaluation.
The Board of Directors assessed the general business performance, taking into account in particular the information received from the Chief Executive Officer, and by quarterly comparing the results achieved with those planned.
The Corporate Governance Manual envisages that the Board of Directors is responsible for examining and approving in advance any ordinary or extraordinary transactions of Sabaf and its subsidiaries that might have a material impact on its assets, liabilities, operating results and financial position, especially if entailing a potential conflict of interest.
An operational Guideline attached to the Corporate Governance Manual defines the general criteria for identifying transactions of importance, namely:
The Corporate Governance Manual also provides that the Board of Directors is vested with the power to examine and approve any ordinary and extraordinary transactions of Sabaf and its subsidiaries, in which one or more directors have a personal interest or could be bearers of someone else's interest. For this purpose, an operational Guideline of the Corporate Governance Manual governs the operating methods suitable to facilitate the identification and adequate management of these situations.
Finally, as provided for by Consob resolution 17221 of 12 March 2010 on related-party transactions, and in compliance with the "Procedure regulating related-party transactions" which came into force in January 2011 and was subsequently updated in 2012 and 2015, the Board of Directors assessed the transactions with related parties carried out in the course of the year. No related-party transaction carried out in the year was considered to be of major significance.
During the financial year, the Board of Directors carried out its annual review of the size, membership (including professional competences, managerial skills and seniority) and activities of the Board of Directors and its Committees. After having considered various approaches for evaluation, Sabaf Board of Directors decided, as defined under the guideline attached to the Corporate Governance Manual "Evaluation of the Board of Directors", that the individual directors would evaluate themselves, by filling out and returning specific questionnaires. It then discussed the results at the 19 December 2017 Board meeting. The Company deemed not necessary to avail itself of external consultants.
The Lead Independent Director (Renato Camodeca) is responsible for coordinating the annual assessment and for defining the topics to be discussed at the self-assessment.
The questionnaires distributed to the directors (and compiled in anonymous form) involve the use of multiple criteria (e.g. dimensional, effectiveness, efficiency, professional characteristics, etc.) and cover the following areas of assessment:
The self-assessment questionnaire was completed by all the directors and the results of the assessment were generally positive.
It should be noted that the results of the self-assessment process concerning the composition of the Board and the competence of the Directors were also taken into account in the process of preparing the Policy on the composition of the Corporate Bodies, as described in paragraph 4.2 above.
The Board of Directors did not express any opinions on the managers and professionals whose presence the Board of Directors deemed appropriate during the board meetings.
In 2017, the Shareholders' Meeting did not authorise any exemptions, generally or in advance, to the prohibition on competition required by Article 2390 of the Italian Civil Code.
On 23 January 2017, Alberto Bartoli – appointed by the ordinary shareholders' meeting of 5 May 2015 – resigned from the role of Director and Chief Executive Officer, with effect from the date of the shareholders' meeting to approve the 2016 financial statements, occurred on 27 April 2017. On 27 April 2017, the Board of Directors approved the interim assignment to Gianluca Beschi - Executive Director and Administration, Finance and Control Director - of the powers already assigned to Bartoli, until the appointment of a new director. On 3 August 2017, the Board of Directors appointed Pietro Iotti as Chief Executive Officer, effective as from 12 September 2017.
The Chief Executive Officer is responsible for running the Company according to the strategic guidelines defined by the Board of Directors. The Chief Executive Officer coordinates all corporate functions, guaranteeing a rapid decision-making process and ensuring efficient and transparent management. The Chief Executive Officer has wideranging powers with regard to all areas of operation of the company, with powers of attorney for up to one million euros per transaction. The Chief Executive Officer of Sabaf can be identified as the main responsible for the management of the company; the situation of interlocking directorate is not applicable (Pietro Iotti has not undertaken the office of director in another Issuer whose chief executive officer is a director of Sabaf S.p.A.).
The Chairman of the Board of Directors, Giuseppe Saleri, is the main shareholder of Sabaf S.p.A.; the Vice Chairmen, Ettore and Cinzia Saleri, are the children of the Chairman, and Roberta Forzanini is the spouse of Gianbattista Saleri, son of the Chairman.
The Chairman and Vice Chairmen are vested with broad powers, with separate signature rights, within the limit of € 500,000 per individual transaction. This authority has been delegated to the Chairman and Vice Chairmen to assure more streamlined management and is specifically designed to ensure management gaps are avoided, should the CEO be unable to exercise his functions.
Taking into consideration the characteristics, dimensions and organisational structure of the Issuer, the Board of Directors has not - at the current time - identified the need to set up an Executive Committee.
The CEO reports quarterly to the Board of Directors and to the Statutory Auditors on the activities conducted in exercising the powers conferred on him. An operational Guideline of the Corporate Governance Manual regulates the flow of information to the Board of Directors and Statutory Auditors, also in order to comply with the reporting obligations provided by Art. 150 (1) of the TUF; in particular, the Chief Executive Officer summarises periodically through written reports the following activities and operations carried out by Sabaf and its subsidiaries:
The current composition of the Board of Directors envisages 1 (one) executive director, Gianluca Beschi, Administration, Finance and Control Director (CFO), in addition to the Chief Executive Officer (Pietro Iotti), the Chairman (Giuseppe Saleri) and the Vice Chairmen (Ettore and Cinzia Saleri and Roberta Forzanini) mentioned in the previous paragraphs.
The current composition of the Board of Directors includes 5 (five) non-executive and independent directors.
With the abstention of those concerned, the Board of Directors assesses whether the independent directors meet the independence requisites as soon as they are appointed and, subsequently, once a year, paying more attention to substance than to form.
With reference to the independent directors in office for the three-year period 2015-2017, such assessment was performed upon Board appointment (5 May 2015) and, subsequently, on 14 February 2017 and 13 February 2018: on this occasion the declarations of the independent directors were delivered. The Board of Directors assessed the existence of the requisites of independence pursuant to the Code and the TUF regarding the directors: Renato Camodeca, Giuseppe Cavalli, Fausto Gardoni, Nicla Picchi and Anna Pendoli.
For the purpose of assessing Directors' independence, the Company referred to the criteria set out in Article 3 of the Corporate Governance Code, incorporated within the Corporate Governance Manual, and further requirements set out by the Regulation of Borsa Italiana markets for the STAR segment.
At its meeting on 26 June 2015, and subsequently on 2 March 2017 and 8 March 2018, the Board of Statutory Auditors checked and certified the proper implementation of the criteria and procedures adopted by the Board of Directors to determine the independence of the directors who qualify as such.
In 2017, the independent directors met without the other directors. This meeting took place on 19 December 2017 and among the items on the agenda was the analysis of the self-assessment questionnaires of the Board of Directors for the year 2017. The Board of Directors was promptly informed of the results of this meeting, formalised in an official meeting minutes.
At the meetings of the Internal Control and Risk Committee and meetings with the Supervisory Bodies, the Independent Directors were able to assess the completeness and timeliness of the information provided to them at least three days before every meeting of the Board of Directors and to identify and discuss beforehand any issues that may have emerged.
Since the Chairman of the Board of Directors is the main shareholder of Sabaf, the Board of Directors meeting held on 5 May 2015 has renewed the designation of Renato Camodeca as Lead Independent Director.
This person will remain in office for the entire term of the Board of Directors and is a point of reference and coordination for the applications and contributions of non-executive directors, with particular reference to independent directors.
During the financial year, the Lead Independent Director has collaborated with the Chairman to ensure that the Directors received complete and prompt information on the adoption of resolutions by the Board of Directors and the exercise of its powers of direction, coordination, and supervision of Company and Group activities.
The Lead Independent Director has also coordinated the Board of Directors selfassessment process.
The CEO manages the processing of confidential information in accordance with a specific procedure, adopted by the Board of Directors, for internal management and external disclosure of documents and information concerning the Company. Special attention is paid to the management of privileged information, as defined by Article 181 of the TUF (or information of a precise nature, not yet made public, concerning Sabaf - directly or indirectly - or one or more financial instruments of the Company and that, if made public, could have a significant effect on the prices of such financial instruments or on the prices of related derivative financial instruments).
The aim of this procedure is to ensure that the company handles confidential information carefully, safely and privately, and discloses any insider information in a symmetrical, nonselective, prompt, complete and adequate manner.
Corporate officers are obliged to maintain the confidentiality of information and documents obtained in the performance of their duties and to comply with the procedure referred to in this section.
The Board of Directors can set up one or more Committees within the Board, such Committees being responsible for making proposals or providing consultancy on specific topics and having no decision-making powers.
Following the appointment of the new administration and control bodies, on 5 May 2015 the Sabaf Board of Directors established the Remuneration and Nomination Committee (chapter 7) and Internal Control and Risk Committee with functions also of Related Parties Committee (chapter 9), in line with the provisions of the Corporate Governance Code.
Taking into consideration the characteristics, dimensions and organisational structure of the Issuer, the Board of Directors has - at the current time - deemed it necessary to attribute the functions of the Nomination Committee to the Remuneration Committee thereby establishing the Remuneration and Nomination Committee, composed of 4 nonexecutive directors, with an independent majority.
The Board of Directors has also assigned the functions carried out by the Related-Party Committee to the Internal Control and Risk Committee, especially the duty to support the Board of Directors, through reasoned opinion, in any amendments and supplements to the "Procedure regulating related-party transactions".
No further committees responsible for making proposals and providing advice have been established other than the ones envisaged in the Code.
The Board of Directors has set up a Remuneration Committee, also with the function of Nomination Committee.
With a resolution on 5 May 2015, Remuneration and Nomination Committee was set up, comprising three non-executive and independent members, with the knowledge and experience in accounting, finance and remuneration policies that are deemed adequate by the Board of Directors. Subsequently, on 10 May 2016, the Board resolved to increase to the members of the Remuneration and Nomination Committee to four, with the appointment of Alessandro Potestà. At the date of this report, the Committee is therefore composed of four non-executive members, the majority of which is independent, with the Chairman chosen amongst the independent members. The current Committee members are identified in Table 2 in paragraph 4.2.
The work of the Remuneration and Nominations Committee is coordinated by the Chairman and the meetings minutes are regularly drafted. After each meeting of the Committee, the Chairman shall be responsible for informing the Board of Directors thereof, during the at the first available meeting, reporting on the activities carried out and giving suggestions and recommendations on matters of relevance.
Other directors, employees and experts, as well as the Chairman of the Board of Statutory Auditors and other statutory auditors, may be invited to participate with advisory roles in Committee meetings on a case-by-case basis.
In 2017, the Committee met ten times, with each meeting lasting, on average, around two hours and fifteen minutes. The percentages of the participation of each director at the meetings of the Committee are shown in Table 2 of paragraph 4.2.
The Committee met five times in 2018 (17 January, 6 February, 21 February, 12 March and 26 March); further meetings will be organised after the renewal of the Corporate Bodies.
At the invitation of the Committee, the meetings were attended by the Chief Executive Officer, the Administration, Finance and Control Director, the Human Resources Director and some members of the Board of Statutory Auditors, to discuss the items on the agenda from time to time.
Moreover, all the Strategic Directors and other Heads of Function were invited to the Committee's meeting of 6 February 2017, in order to gather information useful for defining the profile of the new Chief Executive Officer.
The Company's Corporate Governance Manual assigns the following duties to the Remuneration and Nomination Committee:
on the basis of the information provided by the CEO; it shall formulate proposals to the Board of Directors in that regard;
In the course of the financial year, the Committee has analysed final results of the managerial incentive plan (MBO) for the financial year 2016 and prepared the managerial incentive plan for the year 2017, approved by the Board of Directors on 20 March 2017. Moreover, it analysed the final results of the project, defined by management as the "Premio Produciamo Qualità" for 2016 and expressed a favourable opinion on 2017.
Following the resignation of the Chief Executive Officer on 23 January 2017, the Committee carried out a preliminary investigation to define the profile of the new Chief Executive Officer. Moreover, following the appointment of the new Director and Chief Executive Officer Pietro Iotti, the Committee submitted a proposal to the Board of Directors regarding the distribution of the remuneration to be paid to the Board for 2017, within the limits set by the Shareholders' Meeting. The proposal was approved during the Board of Directors' meeting of 3 August 2017.
Finally, the Committee proposed an update of the Remuneration Policy, approved during meeting of the Board of Directors on 14 November 2017, to be submitted to the shareholders' meeting for approval at the time of the approval of the 2017 financial statements.
For details of the Remuneration Policy and the short-term (MBO) and long-term (LTI) management incentive plans, please refer to the 2017 Remuneration Report, available on the Company's website at the following address: www.sabaf.it, under the section "Investors - Corporate Governance" and included in the 2017 Annual Report.
In the period covered by this report, the Committee had full access to the information necessary to carry out its duties.
Directors shall not take part in Remuneration Committee meetings in which proposals are submitted to the Board concerning their remuneration.
The Board of Directors set up an expenses fund of € 25,000 available to the Remuneration and Nomination Committee to carry out its duties. The fund was not used in 2017.
The remuneration of (i) members of the Board of Directors, (ii) members of the Board of Statutory Auditors and (iii) key management personnel are defined in line with the "General Remuneration Policy", approved by the Board of Directors and submitted to the advisory vote of the Shareholders' Meeting.
For more information about the above mentioned Policy, and for more details of the specific information relating to 2017, please see the full document, available on the Company's website: www.sabaf.it, under the section "Investors - Corporate Governance" and reports on remuneration published pursuant to Art. 123-ter of the TUF.
The Board of Directors has set up a Control and Risk Committee, also with functions of Committee for related-party transactions.
In 2017, the Committee met five times, with each meeting lasting, on average, around one hour. The percentages of the participation of each director at the meetings of the Committee are shown in Table 2 of paragraph 4.2. Five meetings are scheduled for 2018, one of which already took place on 6 February.
The Control and Risk Committee is composed of three non-executive and independent members pursuant to the requirements of the Corporate Governance Code. The members have experience in finance and accounting deemed adequate by the Board of Directors at the time of appointment.
Upon invitation of the Committee, the following people took part in the Control and Risk Committee meetings: the Head of Internal Audit, the consulting firm Protiviti as provider of Internal Control Services, which also provides secretarial services, the Board of Statutory Auditors, the CFO as the "Manager Responsible for the preparation of the Corporate Financial Documents", and the Director in charge of the Internal Control and Risk Management System.
Moreover, in 2017, the Committee invited the Chief Information Officer of Sabaf S.p.A. to participate on two occasions in order to discuss the results of an IT Audit, receive updates on the activities undertaken by the Company regarding Information Security area and obtain details of the results of the IT Risk Assessment activities carried out during the year. The work of the Control and Risk Committee is coordinated by the Chairman and the meeting minutes are regularly drafted. After each meeting of the Committee, the Chairman shall be responsible for informing the Board of Directors thereof, during the at the first available meeting, reporting on the activities carried out and giving suggestions and recommendations on matters of relevance.
The following tasks were entrusted to the Control and Risk Committee:
examining the periodic reports evaluating the Internal Control and Risk Management System and those of particular significance prepared by Internal Audit;
monitoring the autonomy, adequacy, effectiveness and efficiency of the Internal Audit Department;
As indicated previously, the Committee, also representative of the Related-Party Committee, is responsible for supporting the Board of Directors, through reasoned opinions, in the initial adoption and subsequent amendments and supplements of the "Procedure regulating related-party transactions" in implementation of Consob Regulation 17221 of 12 March 2010.
Note that the supervision of the effectiveness of the statutory audit process is referred to the Board of Statutory Auditors, also by virtue of the functions assigned to them by the existing regulations (Legislative Decree 39/2010).
In 2017, the Committee:
Please note that, in the absence of elements deemed adverse by the Board of Directors, in 2017 the Committee did not carry out specific preliminary investigation activities.
With resolution dated 14 November 2017, the Board of Directors approved the text of the new Remuneration Policy for 2018 and acknowledged the conclusion of the employment agreement with the new Chief Executive Officer Iotti. This agreement includes the payment of a variable remuneration that envisages certain conditions that depart from the provisions of the current general Sabaf Remuneration Policy. Therefore, during the meeting of 12 December 2017, the Control and Risk Committee expressed a favourable opinion on the Company's interest in carrying out this transaction.
In performing its functions, the Control and Risk Committee has access to the information and company departments necessary to fulfil its duties, and may also use external consultants, within the terms established by the Board of Directors.
The Internal Control and Risk Committee has an expenses fund of € 30,000 at its disposal, established by the Board of Directors to carry out its duties. This fund was not used in 2017.
The annual process of identifying and assessing the main corporate risks was carried out in the second half of 2017, and was approved by the Board of Directors with the favourable opinion of the Control and Risk Committee having heard the Board of Statutory Auditors and the Director in charge of the Internal Control and Risk Management System, at the meeting held on 19 December 2017. On that occasion, the Issuer took into account not only risks deriving from the external context in which Sabaf operates, but also the strategic, organisational and "execution" risks that may be significant from the point of view of sustainability in the medium/long term.
In the Corporate Governance Manual, the Board of Directors has defined the guidelines for the Internal Control and Risk Management System so that the main risks relating to the Issuer and its subsidiaries are properly identified, measured, managed and monitored, as well as being compatible with the strategic objectives of the Group.
The Internal Control and Risk Management System applies to Companies and strategically significant subsidiaries (Faringosi Hinges, Sabaf do Brasil and Sabaf Turkey), identified as such by the Sabaf Board of Directors.
The Internal Control and Risk Management System is the collection of rules, procedures and organisational structures designed to ensure, with reasonable certainty, the achievement of the following objectives:
The fundamental components of Sabaf's Internal Control and Risk Management System and of the strategically significant subsidiaries are based on:
the methods and mechanisms for the practical implementation of control principles, reflected in the documentation constantly produced and updated by the Company to define the rules of behaviour, the division of tasks and the delegation of responsibilities. This includes the following:
the Charter of Values,
Sabaf considers the Internal Control and Risk Management System for financial information an integral part of its risk management system.
In this regard, as far back as 2008, Sabaf integrated the activities relating to the management of the Internal Control and Risk Management System on financial reporting in its Internal Audit and compliance process (i) preparing a unique Audit Plan, with a shared programme of tests, organised according to specific control objectives (e.g. operational, compliance with Law 262/2005 and Legislative Decree 231/2001, security and profiling of corporate information systems) and (ii) assigning the carrying-out of the interventions to a unique structure, responsible for reporting the outcomes to the competent control bodies.
In addition to this, the Company carries out an annual risk assessment at the Group level, supplementing it for specific aspects relating to individual areas of compliance, including the one related to Law 262/2005.
With specific reference to the Internal Control and Risk Management System on financial reporting, the Group defined its own Accounting Control Model which defines the rules that the Group follows for the purpose of:
• aligning itself to the regulations on preparing corporate accounting documents, as well as all deeds and communications of an economic, capital or financial nature disclosed to the market,
Note that, in 2017, the Accounting Control Model did not require any updating. The internal instructions and standards are added to the Model (including, for instance, the powers of attorney system, the reporting instructions, the supporting information systems, the visits to Group company offices) through which the Parent Company guarantees an efficient exchange of data with the Subsidiaries.
The Accounting Control Model relies on the following key elements:
and this includes the involvement of a large number of players, with some of the main ones listed below:
Sabaf keeps its Model updated with regard to changes in operations and/or organisation, the results of the risk assessment, regular audit activities, as well as changes to the systems and processes involving the structure.
There is an annual process under the scope of the Group's Accounting Control Model, formalised and structured - which is the responsibility of the Manager Responsible for the preparation of the Corporate Financial Documents, supported by the Internal Audit department - aimed at identifying the main corporate processes, significant for the purpose of "262" and the main Group companies that give rise to them are involved.
In line with the best practices, the process of identifying and assessing the processes and organisational units takes into account both qualitative criteria (linked to the visibility of the Manager Responsible for the preparation of the Corporate Financial Documents and his structure in the individual processes and the degree of control; the intrinsic risk level of the underlying process; the complexity of calculation and subjectivity of the estimates) as well as quantitative criteria (related to the importance of the values generated by the individual financial reporting processes).
The 2017 evaluation highlighted the significant processes that were subject during the year to timely audit operations with regard to specific control objectives (existence, completeness and accuracy, evaluation, rights and obligations, presentation and information).
The outcomes of the audits into the single processes are reported by the Internal Audit department to the Manager Responsible for the preparation of the Corporate Financial Documents and to Control and Risk Committee, as well as to those attending the meetings with the Control Bodies, who are informed of the results of the interventions at the scheduled meetings.
On an annual basis, the Head of Internal Audit notifies the Control and Risk Committee, through a detailed report, of the adequate and effective operation of the internal control and risk management system relating to the areas/processes that were checked. For 2017, this report was presented to the Control and Risk Committee at the meeting on 6 February 2018.
Any shortcomings/improvement measures identified during the audits and reported as described above, require the immediate identification of the actions to be taken, as well as regular monitoring of the solution.
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During 2017, Sabaf carried out the annual process of identifying and assessing the main corporate risks, aimed at updating the previous risk assessment and preparing the risk based Audit Plan for 2018, approved by the Board of Directors with the favourable opinion of the Control and Risk Committee having heard the Board of Statutory Auditors and the Director responsible for the Control and Risk Committee, in the meeting held on 19 December 2017.
The Risk Assessment activity was carried out in compliance with the new method developed by Sabaf's Internal Audit in the second half of 2017. In particular, the scales used for risk assessment and the integration of the risk catalogue ("Risk Model") were revised with the aim of adopting an integrated methodology, also valid for carrying out Risk Assessments in the IT, ISO 14001:2015 and ISO 9001:2015 areas. In consideration of this update, the Group risk identification and assessment process envisaged the broad involvement of all the Parent Company department heads, also in their capacity as representatives for the Subsidiaries, each for their respective areas, and taking into consideration the risks that may assume significance in terms of medium-/long-term sustainability.
In line with the Guidelines, the potential effects are assessed for each risk measured (in terms of impact and likelihood according to qualitative/quantitative scales), analysing the causes and evaluating the existing strategies and mitigation systems.
For further details on the main risks arising from the analysis carried out, reference is made to the Report on Operations.
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For 2017, the assessment of the overall adequacy of the Internal Control and Risk Management System was expressed on the basis of the analysis of the following aspects:
Significant events with an impact on the corporate governance and control model:
• Results of monitoring activities carried out by the Internal Audit department,
Based on the information and evidence collected, and after consulting with the Control and Risk Committee, the Board of Directors believes that the Internal Control and Risk Management System in place in 2017 is adequate and effective in relation to the dimensions and characteristics of the Group and suitable overall for achieving the company targets.
The Board of Directors has identified CEO Pietro Iotti as the director responsible for supervising the operations of the Internal Control and Risk Management System.
Under the scope of the responsibilities entrusted to him by the Board of Directors, the CEO has executed the guidelines and implementation of the Internal Control and Risk Management System, defined by the Board of Directors:
On 5 May 2015, the Board of Directors, upon the proposal of the Director in charge of the Internal Control and Risk Management System, subject to the favourable opinion of the Control and Risk Committee, as well as after hearing the Board of statutory auditors, renewed the engagement of an independent external company that provides internal control services, Protiviti s.r.l., to carry out the functions of the Internal Audit Department for the years 2015-2017 as well. It then identified Emma Marcandalli, the company's Managing Director, as Head of that department. This decision has been made because the professional resources to establish such a function are not available internally and also taking into account the greater skills and efficiency that a specialist outside firm can offer with regard to internal control given the size of Sabaf.
Upon engagement renewal, the Board of Directors established the remuneration of the Head of Internal Audit in compliance with corporate policies and market rates, and laid out her functions in line with the Corporate Governance Code.
The Head of the Internal Audit department is responsible for verifying that the Internal Control and Risk Management System is working properly, and is not responsible for any operational areas and remains in office for the entire term of the Board of Directors which appointed him/her.
The Head of the Internal Audit department reports to the Board of Directors, which approves the Internal Audit Plan, as well as the appointment, and also defines the termination of the engagement.
During the year, the Head of the Internal Audit department:
Statutory Auditors and the Internal Control and Risk Management Committee, as well as the Director in charge of the Internal Control and Risk Management System,
• prepared prompt reports on events of particular significance.
Lastly, an expenses fund of € 25,000 was made available to the Head of Internal Audit to carry out his/her tasks, which was not used in 2017.
In 2006, Sabaf S.p.A. adopted the Organisational Management and Control Model ("Organisational Model"), as suggested by Legislative Decree 231/2001, aimed at preventing the possibility of significant administrative offences and crimes with regard to the Decree, which involve the administrative responsibility of the Company in cases where certain types of crime are committed by employees or collaborators in the interest or for the benefit of the Company. In the course of 2008, also the Italian subsidiary Faringosi-Hinges s.r.l. has adopted its own Organisation, Management and Control Model pursuant to Legislative Decree 231/2001.
Through the adoption of the Organisational Model, Sabaf S.p.A. set itself the goal of acquiring a set of general principles of behaviour and protocols which, in compliance with the system of assigning functions and powers and existing internal procedures, meets the requirements of the Decree in terms of prevention, control of the implementation of the Model and any imposition of penalties.
The Organisational Model comprises a General Part, that describes the underlying principles and the aims of Sabaf S.p.A. set itself through its adoption, and a series of Special Parts, which identify and regulate specific behaviour in areas identified as potentially at risk for the Company, with regard to different types of offences. The General Part of the Sabaf Organisational Model of is made available on the company website at www.sabaf.it, under the section "Investors - Corporate Governance".
In the definition of the Model, Sabaf S.p.A. analysed corporate activities, training processes and the implementation of decisions within the individual corporate areas, as well as internal control systems.
Based on the results of the analyses and the areas identified as potentially at risk, Sabaf S.p.A. deemed it appropriate to regulate the processes with regard to the following types of crimes and offences under Legislative Decree 231/2001: Articles 24 and 25 (offences against the Public Administration), Art. 25- bis (as regards falsehood in instruments or signs of recognition), Art. 25-ter (corporate crimes, including the offence of corruption between private individuals), Art. 26-sexies (offences and administrative offences of market abuse), Art. 25-septies (offences in the field of safety, hygiene and health at work), Art. 25-octies (offences of receiving stolen goods, money laundering and use of money, goods or assets of illicit origin as well as self-laundering), Art. 25-undecies (environmental crimes), and Art. 25-duodecies (offences regarding the use of third-country nationals whose stay is unlawful).
The Model also includes the mandatory establishment of the Supervisory Body, composed of several people with the members being particularly well qualified and in possession of the requirement of integrity pursuant to Article 109 of Legislative Decree 385 of 1 September 1993.
The Supervisory Body (appointed on 8 May 2012 by the Board of Directors of Sabaf S.p.A. for the period 2012-2014, and subsequently re-appointed by the Board of Directors on 5 May 2015 for the period 2015-2017) comprises Nicla Picchi, independent director of the Company (Chairman) and Emma Marcandalli, Head of the Internal Audit Function.
Moreover, an annual expense fund of € 20,000 was made available to the Supervisory Body to carry out its tasks, which was not used in 2017.
During the financial year, through the Internal Audit function and in line with its Audit Plan, the Supervisory Body carried out checks on the effective application and awareness of the rules of control and conduct. In addition, during the year specific preliminary investigation activities were carried out, regarding which the Supervisory Body reported to the company's administration and control bodies. Finally, following the updating of the Organisational Model in 2016, some training sessions were provided to Sabaf personnel.
The Body met 4 (four) times during the year and:
The Shareholders' Meeting of 28 April 2009 appointed Deloitte & Touche S.p.A. to carry out the regulatory audit for the period 2009-2017.
In 2017, the independent auditors met twice (on 1 February and 26 July) with the other Sabaf Control Bodies. Meetings minutes have been drafted.
On 5 May 2015, when the new administration and control bodies were appointed, the Board of Directors selected and confirmed Gianluca Beschi, the Director of Administration, Finance and Control, as the Manager Responsible for the preparation of the Corporate Financial Documents.
The Bylaws state the Manager Responsible for the preparation of the Corporate Financial Documents should own the requirements laid down by law, and - in all events - special competences with regard to a) accounting and financial information and b) management and control of related procedures, as well as c) at least three years' experience in administration and control activities or management or consulting functions, for listed companies and/or groups of businesses, or companies, organisations or businesses of a significant size, also with regard to the function of preparing corporate and accounting documents. The Board of Directors appoints and revokes the appointment of the Manager Responsible for the preparation of the Corporate Financial Documents, upon the mandatory and non-binding opinion of the Board of Statutory Auditors.
The Board of Directors has invested the following powers in the Manager Responsible for the preparation of the Corporate Financial Documents:
information of the Company, including interim information, with the entries made in the accounting documents, ledgers and records,
The Company has defined the roles and responsibilities of various subjects involved in the Group's financial information and control training process and the characteristics and management operating methods of the administrative-accounting control system.
Sabaf promotes meetings and exchanges of information between the various bodies with auditing and monitoring functions for the organisational, administrative, accounting, internal control and risk management systems of the Company and subsidiaries of strategic importance.
Specifically, with the exception of the legal provisions with regard to statutory auditors and legally-required independent auditors2, a meeting is held at least ten days before the approval by the Board of Directors of the draft financial statements (separate the consolidated) and Sabaf's interim report for the following bodies:
during which information is exchanged on the main results and/or criticalities encountered during the course of the audit activities carried out, with regard to organisational, administrative, internal control and risk management structures. Meeting minutes are drafted.
In addition to the board meetings referred to above, the continuity and timeliness of exchanges of information between the above-mentioned control bodies is ensured by:
2The reference is to the following articles of the TUF: Article 150, paragraph 3, (The Board of Statutory Auditors and the Independent Auditors must promptly exchange the data and information important for carrying out their respective tasks) and paragraph 4 (Those who are involved in internal controls should also report to the Board of Statutory Auditors surrounding their initiative or, on request, even to just one of the auditors); Article 151, paragraph 1 (Statutory Auditors can, even individually, carry out inspections or audits, at any time, as well as ask directors for information, also with reference to subsidiaries, about corporate transactions or certain affairs, or direct the same requests for information directly to the administration and control bodies of subsidiaries) and paragraph 2 (the Board of Statutory Auditors can exchange information with corresponding bodies of subsidiaries with regard to administration and control systems and the general performance of corporate activities. [omissis]).
In 2017, the Board of Directors evaluated and resolved on the carrying-out of related-party transactions, in compliance with "Procedure regulating related-party transactions" approved in 2010 and later updated in 2012 and in 2015.
In particular, following the appointment of Pietro Iotti as the new Chief Executive Officer of the Company, the Board of Directors, with the support of the Remuneration and Nomination Committee, approved the remuneration of the new director, establishing the amount of the Annual Gross Salary, the variable remuneration in the short and long term, the fee as a member of the Board of Directors, as well as the value of any benefits.
For more information about the above procedure, please see the full text of same, available on the Company's website: www.sabaf.it, under the section "Investors - Corporate Governance".
Lastly, in 2017 the Board of Directors did not examine transactions in which a director had a personal interest and for which the application of the "Significant transactions in which directors have an interest" procedure attached to the Corporate Governance Manual.
On the basis of what is laid down by the Issuer's Bylaws, the following persons cannot be elected as statutory auditors and, if elected, their office is forfeited: persons not possessing the qualities of professionalism, integrity and independence established by existing laws or else they will find themselves in a situation of ineligibility, incompatibility or forfeiture under the law. In addition, the limits on the maximum number of positions established through the Consob Regulation apply to statutory auditors.
The appointment of the Board of Statutory Auditors takes place based on the lists submitted by holders of voting rights in which the candidates are ranked progressively. Each list has two sections: one for candidates for the office of standing auditor and the other for candidates for the office of alternate auditor.
Only holders of voting rights have the right to submit lists. On their own or together with others, they must overall own shares with voting rights representing at least 2.5% of the share capital with voting rights at the shareholders' meetings for the appointment of members of the administration and control bodies, or the different stake for the presentation of lists for the appointment of the members of the Board of Directors.
Each holder of voting rights, as well as shareholders who are part of a group pursuant to Art. 2359 of the Italian Civil Code and those that agree to a shareholders' agreement having as its object the shares of the Company, may not submit, not even through a third party or trust company, more than one list and cannot vote for different lists.
Each candidate may be included on only one slate, under penalty of ineligibility. Outgoing statutory auditors can be re-elected.
The lists submitted should be filed at the Company's registered office and made available to the public at the registered office and on the Company website, under the terms and conditions of the applicable primary and secondary regulations, and this will be mentioned in the call notice. The lists are accompanied by:
The election of statutory auditors takes place according to the following procedure:
• two standing auditors and one alternate auditor are taken from the list which obtained the absolute highest number of votes at the Shareholders' Meeting, based on the progressive order in which they are listed,
• the remaining standing auditor and the other alternate auditor from the list that obtained the greatest number of votes at the Shareholders' Meeting, from the lists submitted and voted on by shareholders who have voting rights and are not connected to the reference shareholders pursuant to the applicable regulations.
If there is a tie in the voting between two or more lists, the most senior candidates in terms of age will be elected.
In case the minimum prescribed number necessary of standing Auditors or Alternate Auditors belonging to the less represented gender is not elected, one shall proceed to the replacement of the most recently elected candidate of the more represented gender of the majority list with the next candidate of the less represented gender who is part of the same list.
If it is not possible to proceed, in full or in part, with the appointments following the above methods, the Shareholders' Meeting will resolve with a majority decision.
If the regulatory and statutory requirements are not met, the statutory auditor's office will be forfeited.
In the event of the replacement of an auditor, he or she is succeeded by the alternate auditor belonging to the same list as the auditor to be replaced.
The Board of Statutory Auditors was appointed by the Shareholders' Meeting on 5 May 2015 for the period 2015-2017.
Two lists were filed under the required terms, one by the reference shareholder "Giuseppe Saleri S.a.p.A." and one by a minority shareholder "SIREFID S.p.A.", accompanied by all the documentation required by the laws in force.
The list from the reference shareholder contained the following candidates: (i) Enrico Broli and Luisa Anselmi, standing auditors; (ii) Paolo Guidetti, alternate auditor.
The list from the minority shareholder, on the other hand, contained the following candidates: Antonio Passantino, Chairman of the Board of Statutory Auditors and Riccardo Rizza, alternate auditor.
The list of those elected, based on the proposal of the Board of Directors and voted for unanimously, is provided in table 3 below:
The standing auditors on the Board of Statutory Auditors are professional accountants and fulfil the requirements of eligibility, professionalism, respectability and independence, as set forth in the law and other applicable provisions. For details of their professional profiles, their CVs are available on the Company website at: www.sabaf.it, under the section "Investors - Corporate Governance".
In 2017, the Board of Statutory Auditors met seven times. These meetings lasted, on average, roughly one hour and fifty minutes. From the beginning of 2018 to the date of this report, the Board of Statutory Auditors met twice, on 6 February and 8 March 2018. A further meeting was set for 4 April 2018; subsequent meetings will be scheduled following renewal of the Corporate Bodies.
The Board of Statutory Auditors, at the meeting on 8 March 2018, verified the correct application of the criteria and procedures adopted by the Board of Directors for the purpose of evaluating the satisfaction and continuing fulfilment of the requisites of independence for the directors. In carrying out these evaluations, the Board of Statutory Auditors also has a self-assessment of the permanence of the independence requirement for each of its members.
| Board of Statutory Auditors | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Office | Members | Year of birth | Date of first appointment 1 |
In office since | In office until | 2 List (M/m) |
Indep. pursuant to Code |
Attendance at Board meetings3 |
No. of other offices4 |
||||
| Chairman | Passantino Antonio | 07/12/1947 | 2015 | 05/05/2015 | 2017 | m | X | 100% | 5 | ||||
| Standing Auditor |
Broli Enrico | 14/12/1944 | 2006 | 05/05/2015 | 2017 | M | X | 100% | 15 | ||||
| Standing Auditor |
Anselmi Luisa | 19/02/1966 | 2015 | 05/05/2015 | 2017 | M | X | 100% | 6 |
Quorum required for the presentation of the lists for the latest appointment: 2.5% of the share capital with voting rights at the Ordinary Shareholders' Meeting
Number of meetings held during the year under review: 7
1The date each statutory auditor was first appointed refers to the date on which the statutory auditor was appointed for the first time by the Board of Directors of the issuer.
2This column indicates the list from which each statutory auditor was taken ("M": majority list; "m": minority list).
3This column indicates the attendance of statutory auditors at board meetings (indicate the number of meetings attended in relation to the total number of meetings that could have been attended: e.g. 6/8; 8/8 etc.).
4This column indicates the number of director or auditor offices held by the party in question pursuant to Article 148-bis of the TUF and implementation arrangements in the Consob Issuers' Regulation. The full list of offices is published by Consob on its website pursuant to Article 144-quinquiesdecies of the Consob Issuers' Regulation.
On 26 March 2018, the Board of Directors of Sabaf S.p.A. at the suggestion of the Remuneration and Nomination Committee, with the opinion of the Board of Statutory Auditors, adopted a Policy on the composition of the Corporate Bodies.
This Policy sets out the Company's guidelines on the characteristics considered functional to ensuring an optimal composition of the corporate bodies (Board of Directors and Board of Statutory Auditors), with the aim of guiding the names put forward by the Shareholders when renewing the Corporate Bodies, so that the benefits that can derive from a balanced composition of the Board and Board of Statutory Auditors inspired by criteria of diversity are taken into consideration.
In the same way as with the Board of Directors, also with regard to the composition of the Board of Statutory Auditors, the Policy adopted by Sabaf is in addition to (but does not replace) the regulatory requirements and the provisions of law in force and illustrates the characteristics deemed essential for the Statutory Auditors to be able to carry out their duties in the most effective way; specifically:
Furthermore, the Policy stresses the need for all Statutory Auditors to ensure that they have sufficient time to perform their duties diligently.
The Board of Directors, with the support of the Remuneration and Nomination Committee and the Board of Statutory Auditors, is responsible for monitoring the implementation of the Policy, the results of which will be analysed starting with the renewal of the Corporate Bodies envisaged during the Shareholders' Meeting convened on 8 May 2018.
The Policy on the composition of the Corporate Bodies is published on the company website at www.sabaf.it, under the section "Investors - Corporate Governance".
*** *** ***
In 2017, and in compliance with the requirements of Article 19 of Legislative Decree 39/2010, the Board of Statutory Auditors:
In 2017, the members of the Board of Statutory Auditors were involved in specific induction activities with the members of the Board of Directors, as defined in section 4.2 of this report, aimed at providing them with adequate knowledge about the sector of activity in which Sabaf operates, corporate dynamics and their development, as well as the regulatory reference framework.
In line with the provisions of the Corporate Governance Manual of the Issuer, the following principles of conduct apply to the members of the Board of Statutory Auditors:
The Company has established a dedicated section in its website, which can be easily identified and accessed, in which the information that is important to shareholders is available so that they can exercise their rights with full knowledge.
Gianluca Beschi is the Investor Relations Manager. A specific corporate structure has not been set up because, even taking into consideration the size of the Company, the functions are directly performed by the Investor Relations Manager.
The operating mechanisms of the Shareholders' Meeting, its main powers, shareholders' rights and how to exercise them are those provided for by the laws in force and are governed within the Company Bylaws and the Shareholders' Meeting Regulations to which reference is made.
In 2010, the Shareholders' Meeting has approved Meeting Regulations governing the orderly and effective carrying-out of the shareholders' meetings; during the 2017 financial year the Meetings Regulations have not changed.
The Meetings Regulation describes, among other things, the manner by which the right of each shareholder to speak on the topics on the agenda for discussion is guaranteed. Specifically:
For more details about the Shareholders' Meeting Regulations mentioned above, please see the complete text available on the website, at: www.sabaf.it under the section "Investors - Corporate Governance".
The Shareholders' Meeting held on 27 April 2017 was attended by the Chairman of the Board of Directors Giuseppe Saleri and CEO Alberto Bartoli, six directors (Gianluca Beschi, Cinzia Saleri, Renato Camodeca, Giuseppe Cavalli, Fausto Gardoni and Anna Pendoli), the Chairman of the Board of Statutory Auditors Antonio Passantino and the Statutory Auditors Luisa Anselmi and Enrico Broli.
Moreover, on the occasion of the Shareholders' Meetings, the Board of Directors has reported on the activities carried out and planned and has provided the shareholders with adequate information surrounding the necessary elements so that they can take the necessary decisions with full knowledge of the facts.
The Shareholders' Meeting held on 20 July 2017 was attended by the Chairman of the Board of Directors Giuseppe Saleri and interim CEO Alberto Bartoli, six directors (Cinzia Saleri, Renato Camodeca, Giuseppe Cavalli, Fausto Gardoni e Nicla Picchi), the Chairman of the Board of Statutory Auditors Antonio Passantino and the Statutory Auditors Luisa Anselmi and Enrico Broli.
On that occasion, the Shareholders' Meeting appointed a new director to supplement the Board of Directors, Pietro Iotti, who also took on the position of Chief Executive Officer effective as from 12 September 2017.
During the 2017 financial year, there have not been any significant changes in market capitalisation.
As regards the composition of the shareholding structure, on 15 December 2017, the company Giuseppe Saleri S.a.p.A. sold to FIN TEL s.r.l. 750,000 ordinary shares of Sabaf S.p.A., representing approximately 6.5% of the Company's share capital.
Giuseppe Saleri S.a.p.A. remains the main shareholder of Sabaf with a shareholding of approximately 23.99%. For more details, please refer to Chapter 2 of this report.
For further details about the Bylaws, please see the complete text available on the website, at: www.sabaf.it, under the section "Investors - Corporate Governance".
There are no further corporate governance practices to report in addition to the descriptions provided in the previous points of this document.
There have not been further changes in the structure of Corporate Governance at 31 December 2017 and up to the date of this Report.
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