Nordzucker_GB 03-04_E_.pd 1 - Nordzucker AG

information furnished by the managing
board dispelled any doubts that had
persisted among the supervisory board
members, and the action was dropped.
In August, the bioethanol issue was
up for intensive discussion at two supervisory
board meetings. Having carefully
weighed up all aspects, the supervisory
board spoke against the construction of
a bioethanol plant.
In line with its rotational policy, the
supervisory board dealt with the
Nordzucker AG investment programme.
A matter of special deliberation was our
commitment in eastern Europe. The
supervisory board called an extraordinary
meeting, at which the managing board
presented detailed background information
on the losses incurred in Poland. In
addition, the supervisory board visited
the Hungarian sugar factory of Szerencs to
obtain first-hand impressions of operation.
The compliance declaration under the
German Corporate Governance Code has
been revised by the managing and supervisory
boards for agreement with the
latest version of that code. For details of
the Nordzucker compliance declaration
of 24 February 2004, reference is made to
www.nordzucker.de/info/compliance as
well as to page 58 of this annual report.
At the beginning of the year 2004,
the German supervisory board agency
(Deutsche Agentur für Aufsichtsräte) in
Berlin, was commissioned to review the
efficiency of the work done by the supervisory
board. In his report, the examiner
noted: “The business management
and supervision of Nordzucker AG are
directed at safeguarding the core activities
in the sugar sector in the long
run. All decision-making processes and
controlling are based on the principles
of good Corporate Governance. The
Nordzucker AG supervisory and managing
boards have addressed this objective
in a perfectly systematic and proactive
manner.”
At a closed session in February 2004,
the supervisory board deliberated on the
strategic development of Nordzucker AG.
A major item on the agenda of that
meeting was the competence in sweetening
products as a strategic concept.
Supervisory Board Committees
In the period under review, the audit
and finance committee convened four
times. Items on the agenda of these
meetings, at which the auditing firm was
also represented, were the review and
approval of the financial and consolidated
statements, the nomination of the auditors
for the financial year 2003/2004,
their remuneration, the audit assignment,
the review of the auditor’s independence,
risk management, as well as internal
revision.
The personnel committee convened
for two meetings, at which it primarily
dealt with managing board matters.
These included, in particular, the target
catalogue for the managing board, and
the determination of the variable compensation
for the board members.
The supervisory board received regular
reports of the committee meetings.
Financial Statement
The auditors and tax consultants
Lang und Stolz KG, Braunschweig, which
the general meeting had nominated as
Nordzucker 2003/2004 7