6.5 Departments with specific control functions
With a view to continually improving the efficiency and effectiveness of the internal control and risk management system of Snam and its Controlled Companies, and to better integrating this system, in addition to the departments mentioned previously, the following organisational structures play an important role in identifying, measuring and monitoring operational risks, within own operational responsibilities, doing so in a coordinated manner and using constant flows of information.
Legal & Corporate Affairs and Compliance, the duties of which include:
- ensuring the proper operation of management and coordination activities;
- overseeing the updating of corporate standards and principles and their compliance with applicable laws, regulations and provisions, as well as connecting, coordinating and controlling compliance activities;
- overseeing the definition of governance rules and systems;
- ensuring that the business units of Snam and its Subsidiaries have the necessary support and advice in terms of legal compliance, and that suitable solutions are put forward;
- performing the necessary activities and analysis to coordinate, monitor and control risk as part of the optimisation of operating processes.
Legal & Corporate Affairs and Compliance contains the Legal Compliance team, which is responsible for:
- promoting the simplification/streamlining of the compliance models and of the system of associated rules and procedures, quantifying the real risk in specific areas, in line with international best practice, and monitoring their application;
- disseminating a culture of compliance, working with the relevant departments to promote and ensure communication and training on key topics;
- ensuring that the business units of Snam and its Subsidiaries have the necessary support and advice in terms of legal compliance, and that suitable solutions are put forward.
The Legal Compliance team contains an Anti-Corruption Unit, whose role is to provide specialist legal advice and support on anti-corruption issues to the business units of Snam and its Controlled Companies. The main functions of this unit are: (i) to update existing procedures where necessary and to encourage Controlled Companies to adopt the new rules; (ii) to raise awareness of anti-corruption legislation among employees and to train them to comply with such legislation; (iii) to promote the transposition of new laws and to periodically review the Anti-Corruption Procedure to ensure it is as effective as possible; and (iv) to file a half-yearly report on its monitoring activities with (a) the Supervisory Body, (b) the Board of Statutory Auditors, (c) the Control and Risk Committee, (d) the Director of the Planning, Administration and Control Unit.
Planning, Administration, Finance and Control, the duties of which include:
- overseeing activities pertaining to budgeting, treasury and insurance against financial and business risks, as well as relationships with banking, financial and insurance counterparties;
- defining strategies for the management of financial risks and drawing up the Group’s insurance programme;
- insuring against financial risks through the purchase and sale of derivatives, in accordance with established risk limits and guidelines;
- helping to define the target financial structure in accordance with the Company’s business and risk profile;
- identifying and analysing the main financial risks pertaining to the Group’s business, defining methods and tools to measure, control and monitor the identified risks and ensuring the consistency of these methods with those defined by the relevant Risk Management team;
- working with the relevant departments to suggest updates to risk evaluation and credit management methods.
The Planning, Administration, Finance and Control department contains the Taxation and Corporate Reporting Internal Control System Unit, the duties of which include: (i) ensuring flows of information and report to the Board of Statutory Auditors, the External Auditors, the Internal Control Committee and the Internal Audit department on activities pertaining to the Corporate Reporting Internal Control System and to the Taxation Unit; and (ii) ensuring the activities related to the consolidated reports on the results of controls assessments and information related to the Corporate Reporting Internal Control System.