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 Beat Inauen has been in charge of the auditing mandate since 2015.
8.2 Auditing fees
In 2016, PricewaterhouseCoopers invoiced the Geberit Group TCHF 1,810 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 737 relating to tax consultancy and support as well as TCHF 49 for other services. Therefore, the non-audit fees amount to 43% of the audit fees.
8.4 Information tools of the external auditors
Before 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 three meetings of the Audit Committee in the reporting year 2016.
The Audit Committee of the Board of Directors makes an annual assessment of the performance, fees and independence of the auditors, and supports the Board of Directors in the nomination of the auditor for the attention of the ordinary General Meeting. 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, 3.5 Internal organisational structure, Audit Committee.