Transparent Practices

One of the cornerstones of the company’s strategy is its unflinching commitment to transparency and rigor. To reflect and strengthen this undertaking, the company set itself an objective several years back to the effect that all information appearing in the Annual Audit Report must have its corresponding external audit report.

In 2007, the company’s Corporate Social Responsibility Report underwent an external audit for the first time. The following year, the Greenhouse Gas Emissions Report was also audited by an independent third party, and in 2009, the Corporate Governance Report underwent the same procedure. All three documents have been audited externally once again this year round.

Abengoa’s objective is to ensure reasonable assurance for its reports, the most stringent type of verification that a company can aspire to. Last year, the company secured reasonable assurance for all the GRI (Global Reporting Initiative) indicators reported in its Corporate Social Responsibility Report.

In 2010, the company commissioned no less than 6 reports from its external auditors, all of which form an integral part of the Annual Report:

• Audit report on the consolidated accounts of the group, in accordance with applicable law.
• Voluntary audit report on internal control compliance under PCAOB (Public Company Accounting Oversight Board) standards, pursuant to the requirements imposed by section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX).
• Voluntary reasonable assurance audit report on the Corporate Governance Report, with Abengoa being the first listed company in Spain to obtain a report of this nature.
• Voluntary reasonable assurance audit report on the Corporate Social Responsibility Report.
• Voluntary audit report on the Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Emissions Inventory.
• Voluntary audit report on the design of the Risk Management System pursuant to ISO 31000 standards.