Risk management and audit

The STRABAG Group is subject to a number of different risks in the course of its business activities. These risks are systematically identified and assessed using an active risk management system and dealt with using an appropriate risk policy. More information is available in the management report.

The STRABAG Group’s internal audit department is a neutral and independent authority which again conducted approximately 165 internal audits in all corporate divisions worldwide in the 2024 financial year. In accordance with the rules of the Austrian Code of Corporate Governance, the internal audit department is set up as a staff unit of the Management Board of STRABAG SE and so enjoys the greatest possible amount of independence.

The internal audit department – after planning the audits independently and making continual adaptations to risk assessment – conducts process-independent and neutral audits across all of the Group’s divisions and regions both nationally and abroad. Given its technical and commercial competence, the internal audit department is an important element of the Group’s internal control systems. The internal audits serve to monitor the effectiveness of the risk management and controls, and to evaluate the management and monitoring processes. The comprehensive approach, the use of uniform auditing standards and the neutral reporting further contribute to the standardisation of processes and structures.

In 2024, the work of the internal audit department was subjected to a regular external quality assessment. The results showed compliance with the mandatory elements of the International Standards for the Professional Practice of Internal Auditing issued by the Institute of Internal Auditors.

The routine and special audits serve to recognise and avoid risks, to reveal opportunities, and to constantly monitor proper conduct and compliance with the Group’s value and business compliance system. In 2024, the internal audit department again audited both individual projects as well as entire organisational units. The audits covered the Group’s subdivisions as well as the most important contracts and orders of the year.

The internal audit department reported regularly to the CEO and to the Audit Committee of the Supervisory Board regarding the audit plan and significant results of its work. The audit reports were sent to the audited operating units, to the division managers and to the Management Board, and were also made available to the financial auditors.

The Annual General Meeting of STRABAG SE on 14 June 2024, upon proposal of the Supervisory Board and following a selection process by the Audit Committee in line with Article 16 of the EU Audit Regulation, designated PwC Wirtschaftsprüfung GmbH, Vienna, as auditor of the financial statements and of the consolidated financial statements for the 2024 financial year as well as auditor of the consolidated sustainability report for the 2024 financial year, the latter, however, only provided that the consolidated sustainability report is subject to mandatory auditing by an external auditor due to legal requirements. As the legal requirements for a mandatory audit of the consolidated sustainability report had not been implemented, a voluntary audit was commissioned from PwC Wirtschaftsprüfung GmbH, Vienna. The expenses for PwC Wirtschaftsprüfung GmbH, Vienna, including its network companies, in the 2024 financial year amounted to T€ 762 excl. VAT for the auditing of the separate and consolidated financial statements as well as T€ 845 excl. VAT for the auditing of financial statements at subsidiaries of STRABAG SE. For additional consulting services, including the voluntary audit of the sustainability report, the audit firm received a fee of T€ 551 excl. VAT.

For the previous year, KPMG Austria GmbH Wirtschaftsprüfungs- und Steuerberatungsgesellschaft, Linz, was paid a fee of T€ 863 excl. VAT for auditing of the separate and consolidated financial statements, T€ 790 excl. VAT for auditing of financial statements at subsidiaries of STRABAG SE, and T€ 173 excl. VAT for additional consulting services.

In keeping with C-Rule 62 of the Austrian Code of Corporate Governance, STRABAG SE regularly subjects its compliance with the Code to an external evaluation every three years.

The last evaluation, for the 2022 financial year, was performed in 2023 by THALER.legal Rechtsanwalts GmbH, Vienna. The evaluation revealed no indications that the declarations provided by the Management and Supervisory Board members regarding observation of and compliance with the C-Rules of the Austrian Code of Corporate Governance were untrue. The C-Rules of the Code were complied with – provided no explanation for non-compliance was disclosed. Some rules did not apply to STRABAG SE during the evaluation period. The complete report including the results of the evaluation is available on the website of STRABAG SE. The next external evaluation will be conducted in 2026 for the 2025 financial year.