Internal Control System
The following is adopted as the Internal Governance System for Tonen General Sekiyu K.K. (the “Company”):
1. System for maintenance and preservation of information pertaining to exercise of Directors' duties
To provide a system for the maintenance and preservation of information pertaining to the exercise of the Directors' duties, all Directors and employees shall comply with the Company's Information Protection and Management Guidelines and Records Management Guidelines, which have been previously adopted and made available to all Directors and employees.
2. Regulations and other systems for management of risk of loss
To ensure appropriate management of risk of loss, the following shall be required:
- (1)All of the Company's refineries, terminals and service stations shall be operated in accordance with the Operations Integrity Management System (“OIMS") to help ensure management of risk of loss and to ensure safety, health and environmental soundness in all aspects of the Company's operations. The Company has adopted OIMS and has made information relating to it available to all employees. The OIMS framework includes a number of elements, each with clearly defined expectations, which must be achieved by all functions in the Company. These include: management leadership, commitment and accountability; risk assessment; facilities design and construction; information and documentation; personnel and training; operations and maintenance; management of change; third party services; incident investigation and analysis; community awareness and emergency preparedness; and operations integrity assessment and improvement.
- (2)The Company's Controls Integrity Management System (“CIMS") which has been adopted by the Company and information relating to which has been made available to all employees, shall be complied with to ensure: (i) systematic framework for the effective execution of controls; (ii) a structured, standardized, prevention-based approach to managing risks and concerns; and (iii) a process for ensuring that corporate policies are implemented and effectively sustained over time. The system is comprised of a number of elements including management leadership; commitment and accountability; risk assessment; business procedure management and improvement; personnel and training; management of change; reporting and resolution of control weakness; and controls integrity assessment.
3. Systems to ensure that Directors' duties are executed efficiently
To ensure Directors' duties are executed efficiently, the following shall be required:
- (1)Board of Directors meetings shall be held in accordance with the Company's Articles of Incorporation and the Rules of the Board of Directors. Items to be reviewed shall be decided in accordance with such rules and proposed by responsible functions.
- (2)Directors shall be required to follow the Company's established delegations of authority regarding approval, endorsement and review of business and other matters relating to the Company.
- (3)Issuance of powers of attorney and use of corporate seals shall be implemented appropriately in accordance with the Company's “Guidelines for Powers of Attorney" and “Company Seal Administration Guide," respectively, to ensure among other things, compliance with the authority delegations referred to in item (2) above.
4. Systems to ensure that the execution of Directors' and employees' duties shall be performed in conformity with applicable laws or regulations and the articles of incorporation.
To ensure that the execution of Directors' and employees' duties shall be performed in conformity with applicable laws and regulations and the articles of incorporation, the following shall be required:
- (1)Directors and employees shall comply with the Company's System of Management Control Basic Standards (“SMC"), which have been made available to all employees and defines the basic principles, concepts and standards that form our internal control system. Internal controls comprise the means to direct, restrain, govern and check upon various activities. The basic purpose of such controls is to assure that business is conducted properly in accordance with management's general and specific directives. The SMC consists of four major elements. The Foundation and Framework section sets out the standards for the formulation and administration of Company policies. The Administrative and Operating Controls section deals with standards for activities such as budgeting, financing, contracting and computer systems. The Internal Accounting Controls section deals with standards to ensure the integrity and objectivity of accounting records. Lastly, Checks on the System describes the roles of organizations that serve as checks on the system's effectiveness.
- (2)Directors and employees shall comply with the Company's Standards of Business Conduct (“SBC"), which apply both to the Directors and employees. The SBC has been made available to all Directors and employees and they are expected to review these policies annually in order to ensure compliance and to apply them to all aspects of their work. The SBC contains foundation policies and major guidelines, and also contains provisions and related procedures for receiving and handling questions, concerns and suggestions regarding our business practices, and open communication. These policies include, among others, the Company's Ethics Policy, Conflicts of Interest Policy and Antitrust Policy. Also, formal Business Practices Review training sessions, Antitrust Compliance training, and new employee training shall be conducted periodically for employees to bring about appropriate understanding of the relevant requirements.
- (3)The Company shall continue to follow the Statutory Auditor system. The Board of Statutory Auditors (“BOSA") is an independent organ from the Board of Directors. Its major role is to audit the execution of business by Directors. It monitors business decisions and execution by the Board of Directors to confirm compliance with laws and the Company's articles of incorporation as well as the SBC. It also confirms establishment and state of implementation of the Company's internal control systems, including the SMC to ensure that the shareholders' interests are properly protected.
- (4)Internal audit review shall be conducted by the Corporate Audit Service Department (“CAS") of ExxonMobil Yugen Kaisha (“EMYK"), the Company's parent company, pursuant to an agreement between the Company and EMYK under which administrative and service functions are entrusted by the Company to EMYK (the “Comprehensive Service Agreement"). CAS shall independently assess compliance with policies and procedures, and evaluate the effectiveness of all control systems related to the business. Directors and managers shall be obligated to consider all internal audit findings and recommendations and take appropriate actions.
- (5) Using its existing internal controls system, the Company shall, under the Financial Instruments and Exchange Law, evaluate the reliability and effectiveness of the Company and the Group’s financial reporting, and prepare a report on internal controls.
5. Systems for ensuring the appropriateness of practices of corporate groups formed by the Company, its parent companies and its subsidiaries.
To ensure the appropriateness of practices of corporate groups formed by the Company, its parent companies and its subsidiaries (the “Group"), the following shall be required:
- (1)consistent with the requirements of other members of the Group, employees and Directors of the Company shall comply with the SMC and SBC;
- (2)consistent with the requirements of other members of the Group, internal audit reviews of the Company shall be conducted by CAS under the Comprehensive Service Agreement in order to assess compliance with appropriate policies and procedures;
- (3)consistent with the requirements of other members of the group, Directors and employees of the Company, as appropriate, shall receive training to ensure awareness of the principles applicable to appropriate interactions among members of the Company's corporate group; and
- (4)the Company shall also cause those subsidiaries that it controls to adopt the system provided for in this Paragraph 5.
6. Items concerning employees who will assist the Statutory Auditors where requested by the Statutory Auditors to provide such assistance
Assistance to the Statutory Auditors shall, upon their request, be provided by CAS pursuant to the Comprehensive Service Agreement. This assistance shall consist of:
- (1)discussions with the Statutory Auditors of the Company on Annual Audit Plans;
- (2)regarding the implementation of each internal audit:
- provision to the Statutory Auditors of the engagement letter,
- invitation to attend the Closing Meeting between CAS and the relevant department, and
- provision of a report on the internal audit results;
- (3)report to and consultation with the Statutory Auditors semiannually regarding material items; and
- (4)investigations based on requests by the Statutory Auditors.
7. Items concerning such employees' independence from the Directors
CAS is the internal audit service for the ExxonMobil Group in Japan including the Company. It is a separately established organization within EMYK, and functions independently from the Directors of the Company.
8. Systems for reports to the Statutory Auditors from Directors and employees
- (1)A Director who has found a fact that is likely to cause significant damage to the Company shall present himself to the BOSA and report the fact at the BOSA.
- (2)In support of the foregoing, each Director shall submit a written statement in the form attached to BOSA at the end of each year.
- (3)CAS shall report timely to the BOSA any information it receives from an employee or any other source regarding a Director's breach of duty.
- (4)Law, Controllers and other departments of EMYK shall report material items to BOSA periodically and as required by the BOSA, based on the Comprehensive Service Agreement.
- (5)Pursuant to the Rules of the BOSA, the Statutory Auditors shall have meetings with Representative Directors of the Company as required and exchange opinions on important audit related matters.
9. System (in addition to the foregoing) to ensure that Statutory Auditors' audits are performed effectively
To ensure that the Statutory Auditors' audits are performed effectively, the following shall apply:
- (1)The Statutory Auditors shall have access to important information of the Company, including receiving explanations of relevant matters in advance and access to employees and relevant service providers under the Comprehensive Service Agreement who may have knowledge of such information.
- (2)The Statutory Auditors shall have access to the Company's external audit firm and other appropriate outside professionals.
- (3)The Statutory Auditors shall also have access to the services and assistance of Law, Controllers and other service functions pursuant to the Comprehensive Services Agreement.
