Assystem - 2015 Registration Document

REPORTS OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS

REPORT BY THE CHAIRMAN OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS

The Group also places particular importance on the appropriate segregation of tasks in order to strengthen the controls undertaken in relation to critical transactions, particularly payments. In small-sized entities, the appropriate segregation of tasks is sometimes difficult to achieve owing to the entity’s organisational structure. In such cases, specific controls are put in place, essentially in the form of increased supervision by management which conducts an independent review of critical transactions for control and authorisation purposes. 8.1.3.3.5 ONGOING MONITORING OF THE INTERNAL CONTROL PROCESS Overseeing the internal control process is one of the primary duties of the Board of Directors and the Audit Committee as well as of the Group’s support departments and operating divisions. The Group’s executive management team defines the Group’s overall internal control principles and ensures that they are correctly applied. The Audit Committee examines the main reports related to the accounts as well as those concerning internal control. The internal control process is also assessed by local management (managing directors and finance directors) by way of letters issued by these executives certifying compliance with the applicable procedures for preparing the financial statements and other information provided in connection with the preparation of the annual accounts. 8.1.3.3.6 2016 ACTION PLAN The Group has made internal control part of a continuous improvement plan with the aim of enhancing the operational effectiveness of its processes. In this respect, the action plan drawn up for 2016 includes specifically the following points: ● priority review of recently-acquired subsidiaries. For example, in 2015, the Radicon company, acquired in January 2015, was integrated through the combined action of the head office, the Energy & Infrastructure division teams, and local teams. A strategic Committee was set up every month within the Company, in the presence of shareholders, thus usefully completing the operational Committees, to which an Assystem representative is systematically associated. In addition, an audit of the opening balance and methods for recognising revenue was carried out during 2015 in order to identify the risks at the beginning of the year, to provision them and to apply the Group’s overall rules and methods to Radicon. ● ongoing review of the risk map;

8.1.3.3.4 CONTROL ACTIVITIES IN LINE WITH OBJECTIVES In view of the Group’s high degree of decentralisation and its policy of delegating powers and responsibilities, the scope of the controls implemented is defined by each subsidiary’s management team based on the Group’s underlying internal control framework. The main purpose of the controls performed is to reduce the major risks to which the Group is exposed. The principal categories of control activities cover the following areas: ● contract authorisation: the Group has established delegation principles which give the appropriate managers the necessary powers to authorise contracts. The controls performed cover each contract phase: ● contract review: the Legal Affairs Department conducts an independent review of major contracts before they come into force. In particular, the Legal Affairs Department is responsible for defining the general terms and conditions of services, which are stated on client invoices; ● time-management and billing: each subsidiary verifies the time entered into the applications used for this purpose. The controls carried out ensure that time is correctly allocated to ongoing projects and also trigger client invoicing; ● payments: the Group has introduced a dual signature policy for means of payment. In line with this policy, the Company defines thresholds for the authorisation of subsidiaries’ expenses based on categories of authorised signatories. Secured financial messaging swaps guarantee compliance with this principle. In order to reinforce the supervision and control of certain geographically distanced subsidiaries, the Group Treasury Department receives details of monthly expenses incurred; ● budget and budgetary adjustments: each subsidiary presents the budget that it has drawn up for the current financial year to the members of the Executive Committee who authorise budgets. The same procedure applies to budget adjustments that are made during the year; ● periodic results and reporting: periodic results are reported every month via the reporting and consolidation application (LINK). The Group Finance Department conducts a critical review of these results and obtains from the relevant subsidiaries any further information that it may need to fully understand them. ● selection of invitations to tender, ● submission of bids, ● definition of billing rates and pricing, ● contract riders;

Paris, 9 March 2016 Dominique Louis Chairman of the Board of Directors

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ASSYSTEM

FINANCIAL REPORT 2015