Internal control and audit
Securitas engages in external audits conducted by independent auditors, internal audits that monitor internal processes, and enterprise risk management that identifies and manages risks to protect our stakeholders.
External and internal audits
External audit
The Annual General Meeting 2024 elected Ernst & Young AB as the Group’s audit firm, with authorized public accountant Rickard Andersson as auditor in charge, for a period of up to and including the Annual General Meeting for 2025.
Securitas’ auditor in charge, Rickard Andersson, is a member of FAR. Rickard Andersson’s other assignments are: Elekta AB (publ), Munters Group AB (publ) and SSAB AB (publ).
The auditors' work is based on an audit plan, which is agreed upon in consultation with the Audit Committee and the Board of Directors. The auditors participate in all meetings of the Audit Committee and present their findings from the annual audit at the Board meeting held in February. In addition, the auditors should inform the Audit Committee on an annual basis of any services rendered, other than audit assignments, and any auditing fees received for such services or other circumstances that might affect the evaluation of the auditors' independence. The auditors should also participate in the Annual General Meeting to present the audit report and its conclusions.
The audit is performed in compliance with the Swedish Companies Act, generally accepted auditing standards in Sweden and International Standards on Auditing (ISA).
Audit fees and reimbursement
Audit fees and reimbursement to auditors have been paid for audit assignments and other reviews in accordance with existing laws, and for advice and assistance in connection with reviews undertaken. Fees have also been paid for independent advice. This advice mainly pertains to audit-related consultations for accounting and tax compliance matters including tax returns.
Fees for the auditor’s regular audit assignment amounted to 81 MSEK for 2023. For more information about audit fees and reimbursement, please see note 11 and note 45 in the Securitas AB Annual and Sustainability Report 2023.
Internal audit
The internal audit function is independent from management with direct reporting to the Board.
The Group Internal Audit is part of the integrated assurance agenda, executing a risk based audit plan in concurrence with second line assurance functions and external audit. All noted internal audit findings, with mitigating action plans, are systematically monitored and followed up to ensure appropriate risk mitigation in the operation. All executed audit assignments are reported quarterly to the Audit Committee and business management.
Enterprise risk management
Our enterprise risk management (ERM) process is integrated into the business and aims to identify, prioritize and manage risk. ERM governance includes the framework for controlling and managing enterprise risk, and includes the risk appetite framework, oversight boards and committees, roles and responsibility matrix, and policies and directives.
Securitas is exposed to various types of risks in its daily business. When providing security services, Securitas manages not only its own risks, but also risks on behalf of its clients. Minimizing the risk of a loss occurring, and thereby protecting our stakeholders, is an important objective. Securitas’ risks have been classified into three main categories: Operational risks, financial risks and strategic risks and opportunities.
Operational risks
Our own operational risk are the risks associated with our daily operations and the services we provide to our clients. The operational risks include a number of different areas such as the risk of not delivering services to our clients in line with contract obligations, that we as a company do not adhere to laws and regulations, the digital information security risk, the risk to our people etc.
Financial risks
Financial risks comprise risks within the financial area such as the cash-flow risk including that we manage the DSO (Days of Sales Outstanding) in an efficient manner, correct reporting of financial accounts, risks related to external financing needs, tax risk, currency exposure and so forth.
To allow the divisions, countries and regions to focus fully on their operations, the management of certain risks (such as financing and currency) is centralized to the Group Treasury Centre, to the greatest possible extent.
Strategic risks and opportunities
Strategic risks and opportunities include that we to be a successful company need to ensure that we manage the strategic risks, that is to continuously follow, lead and adhere to industry trends, that we follow the macroeconomic situation, that we have continuous internal innovation and that we protect and develop the Securitas brand.
All the risks in these categories can impact the Group’s financial performance and position if they are not managed in a structured way. Therefore, Securitas has developed its four-step process approach for managing enterprise risks. The four steps are described in further detail on the following pages:
To support the ERM work, Securitas has implemented a web-based governance, risk and compliance (GRC) system that comprises all four steps in Securitas’ enterprise risk management process and gathers the ERM information in one database. The GRC system is used to streamline the ERM processes to further structure the processes and workflows and automates the processes, such as reports, with the aim to improve the overall quality of the ERM work and serves as a single point of information.
Securitas' insurance and claims strategy is to "act as if uninsured". Read more about insurance as a risk management tool.
