II - Provisions: Specific points and Examples 

2. Employee Benefits

2.4. Annual Process chart

2.4.3. Roles and Responsibilities

The main roles and responsibilities of the various “actors” in the process are:

• Local actuary
  • Working in local actuarial valuations
  • Answer questions in valuation results
• Group coordinating Actuaries
  • Propose assumptions (discount rates and inflation rates by regions/countries) to HR for decision by the Pension Committee
  • Review assumptions set by the local entities for validation by the Pension Committee
  • Operate the process of delivering accounting figures
  • Manage relationships with local actuaries, local human resources and finance contacts to get information needed to provide accounting figures
  • Collect results of actuarial valuations, analyze and validate
  • Determine the accounting expense for year n in accordance with the Group accounting policy and standard format
  • Send the accounting figures to local human resources and finance contacts
  • Provide budgeted figure for year n+1
  • Prepare disclosures information for the Group accounts for the plans (defined benefit plans) in their scope
  • Identify the employee benefit plans
  • Ensure that adequate information is provided to local finance to allow for proper accounting under IAS 19
  • Manage relationships with local actuaries (provide individual data, follow-up deadlines)
  • Set local assumptions, together with local actuaries
  • Review and validate the results provided by the local actuaries
  • Ensure that information for disclosures at year-end are provided in due time
  • Ensure that special events are treated appropriately (plan changes, curtailments and settlements, redundancy/early retirement programs, acquisitions/disposals, collective transfer of employees), with the support of/feedback to HR and the Group Coordinating Actuaries.
  • Prepare budget under IAS 19, in collaboration with local finance,
  • Sometimes, make in-house valuations for less material employee benefit plans (hence, playing the role of the local actuary)
• Local Finance contacts
  • Ensure that the Group Coordinating Actuaries files detailing the expenses is provided to the reporting entities’ accountants
  • Ensure that proper information for disclosures at year-end is provided in due time
  • Spread updated instructions to the local accountants and give some support for understanding whenever necessary
  • Ensure that appropriate files are prepared and kept at  the disposal of local external auditors in due time
  • Give support to and help, whenever necessary, the accountants of the entities within their area so that the accounting of the pension expenses and the posting of these expenses to the income statement are compliant with IAS 19 rules
• HR/P&B
  • Are owners of the process of delivering the accounting figures to local finance contacts
  • Ensure that the long-term employee benefits plans in the Group are properly addressed under the IAS 19 accounting rules by local human resources
  • Manage relationship with Group global coordinating actuary
  • Analyze and validate the consolidated figures to be published in the annual Group accounts
  • Ensure consultation of the Pension Committee on potential issues
• Group Accounting and Reporting
  • Issue accounting instructions
  • Analyze quarterly the variations of pension provisions
  • Collect accounting figures for the disclosures to the Group consolidated accounts
  • Reconcile figures reported by entities with those communicated by the Group Coordinating Actuaries and decide on possible corrections in coordination with HR/Payroll & Benefits
• Pension Committee
  • Sets the discount rates and inflation rates, by region/country
  • Validates the other assumptions set by local entities
  • Supervises the whole process
• External Group Auditors
  • Audit the actuarial assumptions set by the Pension Committee
  • Audit disclosures to the Group consolidated accounts
• Local Auditors
  • Audit databases used by local actuaries
  • Audit assumptions set locally
  • Audit actuarial valuations results
  • Audit accounting entries made locally based on the Group Coordinating Actuaries standard spreadsheet
  • Audit reporting figures sent to Brussels for the disclosures in the Group accounts