Financial reporting and audit of the Financial Statements
Since fiscal year 2001, the financial reporting of HUGO BOSS AG has been prepared in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRSs). The Audit Committee set up by the Supervisory Board regularly deals with oversight of the financial reporting process and the audit of the financial statements. It was agreed for the reporting year with the auditor, Ernst & Young GmbH Wirtschaftsprüfungsgesellschaft, Stuttgart, that the chairman of the Audit Committee would be informed without delay of any grounds for disqualification or factors affecting impartiality that arise during the audit, unless they are remedied immediately. The external auditors are also obliged to report on any findings or events arising during the performance of the audit which are of importance to the duties of the Supervisory Board. It was also agreed that the external auditor would inform the Supervisory Board and indicate in its audit report if findings are made during the audit that are in contravention of the declaration of compliance made by the Managing Board and Supervisory Board pursuant to Sec. 161 AktG [“Aktiengesetz”: German Stock Corporation Act]. The Supervisory Board also obtained a declaration of independence from the external auditor in accordance with No. 7.2.1 of the German Corporate Governance Code and verified the independence of the external auditor; the declaration also encompassed the engagement of the external auditor for non-audit services.