2017E — Page 37

CORFORATE GOVERNANCE REPORT (CONTINUED)

ACCOUNTABILITY AND AUDIT

Financial Reporting

The Directors acknowledge their responsibility for preparing the financial statements of the Group for each financial period to give a true and fair view of the financial position and financial performance of the Group. In preparing the financial statements for the year ended 31 December 2017, the Directors have selected suitable accounting policies and applied them consistently, made judgements and estimates that are prudent, fair and reasonable, and have prepared the consolidated financial statements on a going concern basis.

The statement of the Auditor of the Company regarding their reporting responsibilities on the financial statements of the Group is set out in the Independent Auditor's Report on pages 73 to 78 of this Annual Report.

Auditor's Remuneration

Apart from carrying out the annual audit, KPMG, the Auditor of the Company also carried out the review on the interim report of the Company. For the year ended 31 December 2017, the fee of the annual audit amounted to HK$1,737,000 whereas the fee for

the interim review amounted to HK$335,000. Save for the interim

review, KPMG did not provide any substantial non-audit services to the Company.

Risk Management and Internal Controls

The Board acknowledges its responsibility for overseeing the risk management and internal control systems of the Group and reviewing the effectiveness at least annually through Audit Committee. The systems and internal controls can only

provide reasonable and not absolute assurance against material misstatement or loss, as they are designed to manage, rather

than eliminate the risk of failure to achieve business objectives.

The Internal Audit Department of the Company, which reports directly to the Audit Committee and is independent of the Company's daily operations, is responsible for conducting regular audits on the areas of financial, operational, and compliance controls and risk management functions.

The Group has established an organisational structure with defined levels of responsibility and reporting procedures. The Audit Committee supports the Board in design, implementation and monitoring of the risk management and internal control systems. The operating units of the Group are responsible for the identification, assessment and mitigation of risks at

business unit level and across functional areas. The Internal

Risk Management Team, composed of nominated department heads and executives, facilitates the implementation of the risk management framework. The Internal Audit Department assists the Audit Committee in the review of the effectiveness of the

Group's risk management and internal control systems on an ongoing basis. The Directors, through the Audit Committee, are kept regularly apprised of significant risks that may impact on the Group's performance.

The process of risk management involves:

understanding of organisational objectives; identifying the risk associated with achieving organisational objectives and assessing the likelihood and potential impact of particular risks; developing programmes to address the identified risks;

and

ongoing monitoring and evaluating the risks, internal control and the arrangements in place to address them.

The risk management of the Group combines a top-down strategic view with a complementary bottom-up operational

process.

The Board, by the top-down approach, has a particular focus on determining the nature and extent of significant risks it is willing to take in achieving the strategic objectives of the Group. The Audit Committee supports the Board to review all significant risks in order to ensure that the activities of the business remain within agreed risk appetite tolerances.

Hong Kong Ferry (Holdings) Company Limited Annual Report 2017

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