STEERING INTEGRITY AND ACCOUNTABILITY SEC 6 134 FEES PAID AND PAYABLE TO THE EXTERNAL AUDITOR The fees paid/payable to the external auditor, PwC, in 2023 were as follows: FEES PAID/PAYABLE TO PwC IN 2023 RM’000 Audit Fees • PwC Malaysia 4,358 • Member firms of PwC International Limited (PwCIL) 964 Other assurance and non-audit services fees • PwC Malaysia and member firms of PwCIL 1,471 • Other non-audit fees paid to PwC Malaysia and member firms of PwCIL* 1,374 Total 8,167 * Included in the other non-audit fee is other assurance services of RM466,000 GROUP INTERNAL AUDIT The GIA function is independent and reports functionally directly to the AC and administratively to the GCEO. The conduct of the GIA is based on the GIA Charter, which is established consistent with the requirements of the Institute of Internal Auditors’ International Professional Practices Framework and approved by the AC. This is affirmed through the Quality Assurance Review once in every five years with the last one conducted in 2019. There were 59 internal auditors as at 31 December 2023 covering the activities of the Group. The qualification, professional status and continuous development and training of the internal auditors together with their independence and objectivity are disclosed in Practice 11.1 and 11.2 of the CG Report 2023. Continuous development and training is undertaken to enhance and align the internal auditors’ competencies and knowledge to the emerging risks and audit requirements. The details of the Chief Internal Auditor, the person responsible for internal audit can be found on page 105 of the Report. The total cost incurred by GIA for 2023 was RM10.2 million (FY2022: RM9.4 million). This amount comprised mainly staff cost and benefits, travelling expenses and the operating costs of the GIA management system. SUMMARY OF WORK DONE BY GROUP INTERNAL AUDIT IN 2023 The assurance work comprises a balance of governance, risk and control at the corporate centre level and business operational level. The audit focus in 2023 were in the following areas: ASSURANCE In the primary Upstream business division, the focal audit areas were mechanisation, replanting management, inventory management, and FFB security management. At a broader level across the Group, including MSM, the key audit scopes included sales and receivables, trading, procurement and raw material management, as well as production and maintenance management. The GIA was also involved in the remediation process of WRO by the US CBP through the following work: i) Verification of implementation of the remediation plans. ii) Verification of the reimbursements of workers’ recruitment fees. A dedicated audit team has been formed to specialise and focus on sustainability matters and a separate team dedicated on MSM matters. PRINCIPLE B: EFFECTIVE AUDIT AND RISK MANAGEMENT
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