Page 163 - 2012 Annual Report

163
VIVENDI l 2012 l Annual Report
3
3
INFORMATION ABOUT THE COMPANY – CORPORATE GOVERNANCE
SECTION 4 - REPORT BY THE CHAIRMAN OF VIVENDI’S SUPERVISORY BOARD ON CORPORATE GOVERNANCE, INTERNAL AUDITS
AND RISK MANAGEMENT – FISCAL YEAR ENDED DECEMBER 31, 2012
CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY (CSR) AND SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT
✱ Duties and taxes: Vivendi SA’s Tax department provides advice to the
Group’s subsidiaries and guarantees the defense of their tax audits by
local tax authorities, with the exception of the companies within the
Activision Blizzard and GVT business units, for which it participates in
the review and auditing of duties and taxes as part of the preparation
of the Vivendi Group’s Consolidated Financial Statements.
✱ Litigation: major disputes and investigations are monitored directly
or coordinated by the Group’s General Counsel. A report relating
to litigation involving Vivendi and its business units is prepared by
the Legal department of the Group in collaboration with the general
counsels and heads of the legal departments of the main business
units. A summary report is provided to the Management Board on
a monthly basis. A table of current litigation matters, investigations
and disputes is updated for each quarterly closing date based on
information provided by each business unit; a summary of this table is
included in the Management Board’s quarterly business report to the
Supervisory Board. The Supervisory Board and the Management Board
are kept informed of material ongoing litigation matters by the General
Counsel on a regular basis.
4.6. INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION
The Group’s values, the Compliance Program and the data protection
and privacy charter are made available to employees and to the public at
www.vivendi.com.
Group procedures designed to assist with the preparation of financial and
accounting information are updated at least once a year, and are available
in French and English on the Group’s Intranet site. These procedures,
which must be applied by each of the Group’s business units and holding
companies, include: the IFRS accounting principles and the chart of
accounts for the Group; the principles and procedures applicable to
treasury transactions (banking relationships, foreign exchange, finance and
investment); the procedures applicable to investment transactions, sales
of assets, short and long-term financing transactions and the monitoring
of disputes; the monitoring of sureties, endorsements and guarantees; and
the rules relating to advance approval for non-audit engagements to be
performed by the Statutory Auditors of Vivendi SA.
Training materials relating to the application of IFRS standards within
the Group are available online and accessible to all employees. Training
is organized every year by the corporate Consolidation and Financial
Reporting department.
4.7. CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY (CSR) AND SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT
4.7.1. CSR, a source of value creation for Vivendi and its stakeholders
INNOVATIVE POSITIONING
Vivendi distinguishes itself with its approach and contribution to
sustainable development: one that aims to meet the need of present
and future generations to communicate, feed their curiosity, foster talent
development and encourage intercultural dialogue to promote mutual
understanding among nations.
As a publisher and distributor of content, the Group can have an
intellectual and a cultural impact on society.
The Group is at the heart of the worlds of content, platforms and
interactive networks. In 2012, Vivendi invested €2.6 billion in video
games, music, film and audiovisual programs and dedicated €4.5 billion to
net industrial investments, including €4.1 billion for telecommunications
activities.
Accordingly, as early as 2003, Vivendi has focused its societal
responsibility on three strategic issues directly linked to the Group’s
activities:
✱ protecting and empowering young people when they use digital
media;
✱ promoting cultural diversity in the production and distribution of
content while fostering the creative process of artists; and
✱ promoting knowledge sharing by enabling more customers to access
content offerings and communications services.