AVBOB Integrated Annual Report 2018

Group Secretary The Group Secretary is the Company Secretary for the Society and its South African subsidiaries and is responsible for the duties as set out in Section 88 of the Companies Act 71 of 2008. The Group Secretary is required to provide the Directors, collectively and individually, with guidance on their duties, responsibilities and powers and to provide information on legislation relevant to or affecting the Group. The Group Secretary is further required to play a role in the induction of new Directors and in assisting the Chairperson and Chief Executive Officer to determine the annual Board plan as well as the administration of other issues of a strategic nature at Board level. The Group Secretary is required to ensure that the Group’s Secretarial Function operates effectively, specifically with regard to the minutes of all members’ meetings, Board and Board Committee meetings and that all required returns in terms of legislation are lodged. The Group Secretary also provides a central source of guidance and advice to the Board, and within the Group, on matters of ethics and good governance. Regulatory developments Theyear in reviewonceagainsawasignificant increase in thescopeandvolumeof proposed regulatory reform in the financial services industry. The proposed regulations bring about material additional governance and reporting requirements within the Group as well as increased responsibility for the Board and management to ensure adherence to and compliance with the proposed regulations. The most significant reforms include the Insurance Act 18 of 2017, Retail Distribution Review, Financial Sector Regulation Act, the Financial Intelligence Centre Amendment Act, Policyholder Protection Rules, Protection of Personal Information Act and the Proposed National Minimum Wage in South Africa. Risk management and internal control The Board acknowledges its responsibility for establishing appropriate risk and internal control policies and ensuring that adequate risk management processes are in place. The Audit-Risk Committee is assigned responsibility by the Board for reviewing these systems, monitoring their operations and recommending improvements thereto in liaison with the Executive Directors and Senior Management. The Directors and Senior Management are committed to maintaining a risk and control conscious culture across all areas of operation. Combined assurance The combined assurance model shown below, was adopted by the AVBOB Group. This is a coordinated approach that all assurance activities provided by management, internal assurance providers and external assurance providers adequately address significant risks facing the Group and that suitable controls exist to mitigate these risks, particularly those resulting from the Group’s overall business strategy. 30