Auditors

Duration of the mandate and term of office of the lead auditor

The independent audit firm is appointed annually by the Annual Shareholder Meeting following a proposal submitted by the Board of Directors. Re-election is permitted.

Ernst & Young AG (EY), Switzerland, are the independent auditors of Comet Holding AG. The lead audit partner, Martin Mattes, has been responsible for the engagement since fiscal year 2021. The rotation cycle for the lead audit partner at EY is seven years.

In fiscal year 2022 Comet completed an audit tender with three of the big-four accounting firms participating. Ernst & Young AG (EY) was re-elected for fiscal year 2023 by the Annual Shareholder Meeting. The Board of Directors will propose to the Annual Shareholder Meeting to re-elect Ernst & Young AG (EY) as Comet’s independent auditor for the annual term starting January 1, 2024. 

Audit fees

The compensation of EY for services in connection with auditing the consolidated financial statements and as the independent audit firm for all Group companies amounted to CHF 589 thousand (prior year: CHF 382 thousand). In the prior year the total audit fees, including the other audit firms, amounted to CHF 484 thousand.

The audit fees are set annually upon discussion with the Audit Committee and are based on the audit scope at the individual Group companies, any special in-depth audits and the auditing of protection against specifically identified risks.

Additional fees

In the fiscal year, EY received the following compensation for consulting services in connection with accounting and tax matters:

Information instruments pertaining to the external audit

The Audit Committee of the Board of Directors annually reviews the performance, compensation and independence of the audit firm. The Committee also examines the scope of the independent audit, reviews action plans developed to resolve any issues identified in the audit and recommends candidate independent auditors to the Board to propose for election by the Annual Shareholder Meeting. The Board has not specified a fixed rotation cycle. In selecting the external auditors, particular importance is attached to independence and documented experience.

After the first six months of the year, the Audit Committee at its meeting discusses the unaudited half-year results with the independent auditors. In addition, the annual financial statements are planned and the auditing costs for the fiscal year are approved. Additional meetings are held as needed.

After the audit of the annual financial statements, the Audit Committee convenes for a meeting at which it discusses the audited annual report for the fiscal year with the independent auditors. The audit firm reports its findings on the basis of a comprehensive report to the Board of Directors and through the reports of the independent auditors to the Annual Shareholder Meeting.

Further information is provided in the section “Board of Directors”/“Audit Committee”.