Corporate Governance
Corporate Governance PrinciplesCorporate Governance SystemFramework for "Improving Management Efficiency" and "Maintaining Sound Management"System for Ensuring Management TransparencyAs of June 22, 2012
We have established the "Sumitomo Corporation Corporate Governance Principles," based on our view that the ultimate goals of corporate governance are "improving management efficiency" and "maintaining sound management" as well as "ensuring management transparency" to secure the first two. Keeping in mind that our backbone of corporate ethics is in the "Sumitomo Business Spirit" and the Company’s "Management Principles," we are always seeking to establish the most appropriate managerial system for the Company and are strengthening our corporate governance to realize management that serves the interests of shareholders and all other stakeholders.
Sumitomo Corporation Corporate Governance Principles
Under the former Commercial Code, since April 2003, Japanese companies have been able to adopt a company with a committee based system of corporate governance. However, we believe that the best way for us to improve the effectiveness of our corporate governance is to maintain our existing corporate auditor system while enhancing and reinforcing it through auditing from diversified external viewpoints and with opinions and advice from additional external advisors.
We will monitor global trends and legislation concerning companies while preserving our corporate culture as a Japanese company. At the same time, we will observe the benefits of different corporate governance frameworks in other countries.
Thus, Sumitomo Corporation will continually study the most appropriate corporate governance system.
Corporate Governance System
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| * | Management Council: Exchange of opinions and information on basic policy and important matters related to management Internal Control Committee: Management and assessment of overall Internal Control, and planning, implementation and promotion of basic policies related to Internal Control Loan and Investment Committee: Deliberation of important matters, such as investment and financing Compliance Committee: Enhancement of Group compliance focused on "maintaining sound management" |
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Directors and the Board of Directors
We halved the number of Board members from 24 in 2003. As of July 2012, the Board has 12 members. Through this optimized Board of Directors, which oversees the operations of the business and serves as the Company's decision- making body concerning key management matters, we aim to facilitate substantial and active discussion as well as to promote greater efficiency and effectiveness in the decision-making process.
In June 2005, the terms of Directors were reduced from two years to one year. We aim to clarify the responsibility of management among members of management each fiscal year. This, in turn, helps ensure fast reaction times to changes in business conditions.
In principle, the positions of Chairman of the Board of Directors and the President and CEO are clearly defined and separate in order to ensure mutual supervision, and both positions cannot be held simultaneously by the one person. In principle, the Chairman of the Board of Directors and the President and CEO are each limited to terms of six years. These limitations on the tenure of top management help minimize the possibility of governance problems.
With the aim of enhancing the transparency and objectivity of decision-making processes with regard to the remuneration of Directors and Executive Officers, we established the Remuneration Committee. Functioning as an advisory body to the Board of Directors, more than half of the Committee members are from outside the Company. The Remuneration Committee is in charge of studying remuneration and bonuses of Directors and Executive Officers, and reports the results of its studies to the Board of Directors.
Corporate Auditors and the Board of Corporate Auditors
To further strengthen external views within the corporate auditing framework, we added one external auditor in June 2003, bringing the number of external auditors to three out of the five members on the Board of Corporate Auditors. Of these three, two are legal experts (a former Public Prosecutor General and a former President of the Tokyo High Court) and one is an accounting expert—ensuring an auditing system that incorporates a diversity of perspectives.
Corporate Auditors attend meetings of the Board of Directors and all other important internal meetings, to obtain the information necessary for proper auditing. Corporate Auditors also meet the Chairman of the Board of Directors and the President and CEO every month to exchange opinions on material issues regarding management policy and auditing. Moreover, the Corporate Auditor's Administration Department is assigned to assist Corporate Auditors, so that the auditing system functions effectively and without hindrance.
To ensure audit efficiency, Corporate Auditors interact closely with the Internal Auditing Department, receiving reports on internal audit plans and their results in a timely manner. In addition, Corporate Auditors exchange information with and monitor the auditing activities of the Accounting Auditors through regular meetings. By attending audit review meetings and observing inventory audits with the Accounting Auditors, the Corporate Auditors constantly work to improve audit efficiency and quality.
Introduction of an Executive Officer System
We have introduced an executive officer system with the aim of clarifying the responsibilities and authority for execution and strengthening the monitoring function of the Board of Directors. We currently have about 40 Executive Officers selected by the Board of Directors. Of these, 11 Executive Officers also serve concurrently as Directors, including seven who are also General Managers of Business Units. In this way, we aim to prevent gaps between decisions made at Board of Directors meetings and the execution of those decisions.
Appointment of External Advisors
Management Council members meet with outside specialists employed as external advisors to incorporate outside perspectives into our management. In this way, external advisors provide us with advice from diverse perspectives on various themes related to management issues. External advisors also give speeches and lectures in their respective areas of expertise, such as leadership and career development, to employees at various levels within our organization.
Basic Policy on Information Disclosure
To bring an accurate understanding of the Company's management policies and business activities to all our stakeholders, we shall strive to make full disclosure, not limiting ourselves to the disclosure of information required by law but also actively pursuing the voluntary disclosure of information.
Communicating with Shareholders and Other Investors
We send out a Notice of Convocation to shareholders approximately three weeks prior to each regularly scheduled General Meeting of Shareholders. For the convenience of overseas shareholders, we also provide an English-language translation of the notice on our website. We have allowed our shareholders to exercise their voting rights via the Internet using personal computers since 2004 and via the Internet using mobile phones since 2005. In 2007, we introduced the Electronic Voting Platform operated by Investor Communication Japan, Inc. (ICJ). The new platform allows institutional investors sufficient time to thoroughly examine the propositions to be resolved at the meeting.
The IR section of our corporate website provides various materials that may be useful in making investment decisions in a timely manner. These materials include financial results, yukashoken houkokusho (Japanese annual securities reports) and other Tokyo Stock Exchange filings as well as streaming and related documents of various meetings, and Sustainability Reports. Moreover, we provide our Annual Report, and SC News, our public relations news magazine and endeavor to ensure proactive disclosure.
In order to ensure direct communication with shareholders and other investors, we hold quarterly meetings attended by top management to provide information on our financial results for analysts and institutional investors. Also, we periodically visit the United States, the United Kingdom, and other countries in Europe and Asia to hold one-on-one meetings with investors in each region. In addition, we regularly hold meetings with individual investors in Japan.
While increasing management transparency, we aim to strengthen our relationships of trust with shareholders and investors.
While working to strengthen and enhance our corporate governance structure and systems, from the perspectives of "improving management efficiency" and "maintaining sound management," we will continue to further strengthen internal auditing, risk management, compliance, to further improve the effectiveness of internal control.
