Mandate
KPMG AG of Zurich became the external auditors of Georg Fischer Ltd in 1985. The chief auditor, Philipp Hallauer, has held that position since the 2003 Annual General Meeting. The chief auditor is changed every seven years.

Auditing Fees
In 2009, the Corporation paid KPMG AG a total of approximately CHF 2.28 million (previous year: CHF 2.12 million) for services relating to the audit of the annual financial statements of Georg Fischer Ltd, the Corporation as a whole and the corporate subsidiaries audited by KPMG worldwide. Globally, KPMG AG received fees of approximately CHF 0.4 million (previous year: CHF 0.4 million), in particular for tax advice (CHF 0.3 million) and legal advice.

Supervisory and control instruments
The Audit Committee reviews and evaluates the effectiveness and independence of external auditors annually. The Audit Committee bases its evaluation on the following criteria:

• quality of the documents and management letters,
• time taken and costs, 
• quality of oral and written reports on individual aspects and pertinent questions relating to accounting, auditing or additional consulting mandates. 

For the evaluation, the members of the Audit Committee use first of all their knowledge and experience which they have acquired as a result of similar functions at other companies. Internal Audit also issues an annual list of all services rendered by external auditors for the Corporation and their costs. This report is discussed in the Executive Committee and the Audit Committee. Authorisation of the costs for the auditor of Georg Fischer Ltd and the external auditing companies around the world is given by the CFO or by the managing directors of the individual subsidiaries in consultation with their line managers. A high level of cost transparency is ensured because Internal Audit prepares a report every year. Any other mandates granted to KPMG AG are assessed by the CFO. In the presence of internal and external auditing, the Audit Committee also evaluates potential for improvement regarding collaboration, the processing of assignments and any interfaces or overlapping of internal and external auditing. A representative of the auditors attended the five regular meetings of the Audit Committee.