8. Auditors

8.1 Duration of the mandate and term of office of the lead auditor

PricewaterhouseCoopers AG, Zurich, has been the auditor of the Geberit Group since 1997 and of Geberit AG since its foundation in 1999. Lead auditor René Rausenberger has been in charge of the auditing mandate since 2008. His term of office will end with the approval of the Financial Statements and Consolidated Financial Statements 2014. The new lead auditor is Beat Inauen.

8.2 Auditing fees

In 2014, PricewaterhouseCoopers invoiced the Geberit Group TCHF 1,194 for services in connection with the audit of the financial statements of Group companies as well as the Consolidated Financial Statements of the Geberit Group.

8.3 Additional fees

For additional Services, PricewaterhouseCoopers invoiced TCHF 362 relating to tax consultancy and support as well as TCHF 366 for other services. Compared with the previous year, the non-audit fees have therefore been significantly reduced. Altogether they amount to 61% of audit fees.

8.4 Information tools of the external auditors

Prior to every meeting, the external auditor informs the Audit Committee in writing about relevant auditing activities and other important facts and figures related to the company. Representatives of the external and internal auditors attend the meetings of the Audit Committee for specific agenda items, and to comment on their activities and answer questions. The external auditors attended two meetings of the Audit Committee in the reporting year.

The Audit Committee of the Board of Directors makes an annual assessment of the performance, fees and independence of the auditors, and submits a proposal to the General Meeting for the appointment of the auditors. Every year, the Audit Committee determines the scope and planning of the internal audit, coordinates them with those of the external audit and discusses the audit results with the external and internal auditors. For more details on the Audit Committee, see  item 3, Board of Directors, Internal organizational structure, Audit Committee.