8 Statutory auditors

8.1 Duration and term of office of the auditor in charge

The statutory auditors are appointed annually by the Annual General Meeting. KPMG AG, Gümligen-Berne, has acted as the statutory auditors of Swisscom Ltd and the Group companies (with the exception of Fastweb, which is audited by PriceWaterhouseCoopers S.p.A.) since 1 January 2004. Rolf Hauenstein of KPMG AG is responsible for the mandate as auditor-in-charge (since 2011).

8.2 Audit fees

Fees for auditing services provided by KPMG AG in 2013 amounted to CHF 3,315 thousand (prior year: CHF 3,263 thousand). Fees for additional audit-related services amounted to CHF 675 thousand (prior year: CHF 93 thousand). PricewaterhouseCoopers S.p.A. as auditors for Fastweb received remuneration of CHF 881 thousand in 2013 (prior year: CHF 790 thousand) and fees for additional audit-related services provided to Fastweb in the amount of CHF 228 thousand (prior year: CHF 626 thousand).

8.3 Supplementary fees

Supplementary fees of KPMG AG for non-audit services such as tax and other advisory services (other services) amounted to CHF 583 thousand (prior year: CHF 892 thousand).

8.4 Supervision and controlling instruments vis-à-vis the auditors

The Audit Committee verifies the qualifications, independence and performance of the statutory auditors as a licensed, state-supervised auditing firm on behalf of the Board of Directors and submits proposals to the Board of Directors concerning auditors to be appointed or discharged by the Annual General Meeting. It is also responsible for observing the statutory rotation principle for the auditor-in-charge. The Audit Committee approves the integrated strategic audit plan, which includes the annual audit plan of both the internal and external auditors, and the annual fee for the auditing services provided to the Group and Group companies. The Audit Committee has drawn up guidelines for additional service mandates (including a list of prohibited services). To ensure independence, additional service mandates have to be approved by the Audit Committee (where a fee exceeds CHF 300,000) or the CFO of the local Group company. The Audit Committee reports quarterly and the auditors annually on current mandates being performed by the auditors, broken down into audit services, audit-related services and non-audit services. The statutory auditors, represented by the auditor-in-charge and his deputy, usually attend all Audit Committee meetings. They report to the Committee in detail on the performance and results of their work, in particular regarding the annual financial statement audit. They submit a written report to the Board of Directors and the Audit Committee on the performance and results of the audit of the annual financial statements, as well as on their findings with regard to accounting and the internal control system. The Chairman of the Audit Committee also liaises closely with the auditor-in-charge outside the meetings of the Audit Committee and regularly reports to the Board of Directors.