The Board of Directors has established an Audit & Risk Committee. The members of the committee are appointed among and by the members of the Board of Directors, and currently the members are Dieter Wemmer (Chair), Peter Korsholm, and Annica Bresky.
The tasks of the committee include overseeing the integrity of the financial and ESG reporting (including key accounting estimates and judgements), funding, liquidity and capital structure development, financial and business-related risks, compliance with statutory and other requirements from public authorities, internal controls, IT security in operational and administrative areas as well as cybersecurity.
Moreover, the committee approves the framework governing the work of the company’s external and internal auditors (including limits for non-audit services), evaluates the external auditors’ independence and qualifications, and monitors the company’s whistle-blower scheme.
In 2023, the committee reviewed impairments on our property, plant, and equipment with a high attention to our US offshore wind projects, the development and partial implementation of a new, holistic risk management framework addressing lessons learnt in current and previous years and prepared for the EU Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD). Furthermore, the committee conducted an audit tender with effect from 2025, continued to assess the claim made by the Danish Tax Agency requiring double Danish taxation of certain of our British offshore wind farms, and lastly, reviewed the progress in IT security.
Our Internal Audit function reports to the Audit & Risk Committee and is independent of our administrative management structures. Internal Audit enhances and protects the organisational value by providing risk-based and objective assurance, advice, and insight. The focus for Internal Audit is to audit and advise on our core processes, governance, risk management, control processes, and IT security.
The Chair of the Audit & Risk Committee is responsible for managing our whistle-blower scheme. Internal Audit receives and handles any reports submitted. Our employees and other associates may report serious offences, such as cases of bribery, fraud, and other inappropriate or illegal conduct, to our whistle-blower scheme or through our management system.
In 2023, 18 substantiated cases of inappropriate or unlawful behaviour were reported through our whistleblower scheme. Nine cases related to good business conduct policy violations, while six cases concerned the workplace environment, one case concerned IT security, and two cases were classified as 'other'. None of the reported cases were critical to our business, nor caused adjustments to our financial results. One case required a police report. Whistleblower cases are taken very seriously, and we continuously enhance the awareness of good business conduct through education and awareness campaigns to minimise future similar cases.
Ten meetings have been held in the committee in 2023.
You can download the terms of reference of the Audit & Risk Committee via the link above.
