auditor, the setting of audit fees, monitoring the auditor’s independence, and the approval
of non-auditing services of the auditor. Furthermore, the Audit Committee addressed
the identification and monitoring of risks in the Group, the Group’s internal auditing activi-
ties, ALTANA’s Compliance Management System, as well as the good corporate governance.
Also, following a recommendation of the German Corporate Governance Code, the
Audit Committee 2020 devised a regular assessment of the quality of the audit of the
financial statements. In December, the Audit Committee dealt with cyber risks threatening
the Group and how to defend against them. The Mediation Committee, established in
accordance with section 27 (3) of the German Codetermination Act, did not convene in the
2020 fiscal year.
Annual Financial Statements
The Annual Financial Statements of ALTANA AG, the Consolidated Financial Statements for
the year ended December 31, 2020, and the management report of ALTANA AG, as well as
the Group Management Report, were audited by PricewaterhouseCoopers GmbH Wirt-
schaftsprüfungsgesellschaft, which was appointed by the Annual General Meeting and engaged
by the Audit Committee of the Supervisory Board, and it issued an unqualified audit
opinion in each case. The system for early risk recognition set up for the ALTANA Group pursuant
to section 91 of the German Stock Corporation Act was audited, and the examina-
tion revealed that the system is capable of fulfilling its objectives.
The financial statement documentation, the Corporate Report, the reports of Pricewater-
houseCoopers GmbH Wirtschaftsprüfungsgesellschaft on the audit of the Annual Financial
Statements and the Consolidated Financial Statements, as well as the Management Board’s
proposal for the distribution of the profit, were made available to all Supervisory Board
members. The Audit Committee of the Supervisory Board dealt at length with this documen-
tation. The Supervisory Board inspected the documentation and dealt with it in depth at
its balance sheet meeting in the presence of the auditor, who reported on the main results
of the examination. The Supervisory Board is in agreement with the findings of the audit
without objections and its meeting of March 17, 2021, approved the Annual Financial Statements
and Consolidated Financial Statements prepared by the Management Board. The
Annual Financial Statements are thereby adopted. The Supervisory Board evaluated the Management
Board’s proposal for the distribution of the profit and is in agreement with its
recommendation.
16 Report of the Supervisory Board