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32 Corporate Governance9. Information PolicyThe Group is committed to ensuring a consistent and transparent information policy that meets the needs of the media, analysts, investors, and other stakeholders. The Company%u2019s objective is to provide financial and business information about the Company%u2019s and the Group%u2019s historical record, current performance, and future prospects that fulfill the best practice standards in reporting. The Company%u2019s official publication medium is the Swiss Official Gazette of Commerce (Schweizerisches Handelsamtsblatt).The Group publishes financial results on a semi-annual basis. The annual results are generally released in February and the half-year results in July.The Group has established a website at www.dksh.com to ensure a rapid and equitable distribution of information. The Group%u2019s website has a section fully dedicated to Investor Relations: www.dksh.com/investors. Media releases, presentations, webcasts, and financial reports are available online under this section.For the distribution of ad-hoc notices, DKSH maintains push and pull services, in accordance with applicable laws and regulations, accessible on the Company%u2019s website at www.dksh.com/global-en/home/media/news.Representatives of the Group also regularly meet with the financial community at conferences, roadshows as well as one-on-one meetings. A calendar of upcoming events, such as the publication of the annual and half-year results, media conferences, and analyst calls as well as the General Meeting of shareholders is available online at www.dksh.com/financial-calendar.Management transactions made in 2023 by qualifying members of the Executive Committee or other senior managers, which are required to be disclosed by the Group and published by the SIX Swiss Exchange, may be found at www.ser-ag.com/en/resources/notifications-market-participants/management-transactions.html#/.The Group acknowledges and complies with the rules regarding information and reporting specified under the Directive on Regular Reporting Obligations for Issuers of Equity Securities, Bonds, Conversion Rights, Derivatives, and Collective Investment Schemes issued by SIX Swiss Exchange.Additional FeesIn addition to the auditing fees mentioned above, the statutory auditors charged an amount of CHF 0.3 million in 2023. This included tax services and other audit-related services in various markets.Additional Fees EY%u20132023 CHFTax advisory services 204,800Other audit-related services 71,300HR-related services 2,900Total 279,000Informational Instruments Pertaining to an External AuditThe Audit Committee evaluates the performance, fees, and independence of the auditors each year according to the following criteria:(i) quality of the Management Letter;(ii) global coverage and coordination of the audit instructions;(iii) meeting the deadlines required to allow the annual results%u2019 media release to be published on the scheduled date;(iv) benchmark analysis of the audit fees; and(v) independence as defined by relevant rules of the Swiss Federal Act on the Licensing and Oversight of Auditors (AOA).The Audit Committee discusses and reviews the scope of the audits and the feedback resulting therefrom. Based on this information, it determines changes and improvements as necessary. For further information on the responsibilities of the Audit Committee with respect to the external auditors, please refer to the section Internal Organization Structure.Audit-related and material non-audit-related services (e.g.tax services and other consulting services) that are provided by the auditors must be approved in advance by the Audit Committee. In the business year, the auditors had various contacts with members of the Executive Committee and particularly the Chief Financial Officer, whom the auditors met several times during the business year. The purpose of such meetings was to report on selected topics, such as preparation of meetings with the Audit Committee and status updates on half-year review and full-year closing.In the business year, the auditors attended three meetings with the Audit Committee and other informal meetings to provide status updates on audit matters and the collaboration with the Group Internal Audit function of the Company to report on the review of the half-year results and the audit of the year-end closing, to assess their own independence and, if required, obtain approvals from the Audit Committee regarding non-audit-related assignments.