ASX Corporate Governance Compliance and Risk Assessment of Woolworths Limited

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Audit Assurance and Compliance

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Executive Summary
The present report is developed for providing an adequate understanding of the
importance of presence of effective corporate governance statement policies and risk assessment
procedures in an organization. For this purpose, the report has selected a business company listed
in ASX (Australian Securities Exchange) in the S&P 300 index. The compliance of the selected
company with the ASX Corporate Governance Principle is examined through the help of its
corporate governance statement. In addition to this, the risk assessment procedure used for
assessing the audit risk of the selected company is also discussed in the report. As such, the
report has discussed the nature of the company, its market overview, business strategy for
focusing on the relevant audit risk and the potential steps to be implemented for reducing the
risk.

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Contents
Implication of ASX Corporate Governance Principles by Woolworths Limited............................4
Developing Solid Foundations For Management and Oversight.................................................4
Board Structure Capable of Adding Value..................................................................................4
Ethical and Responsible Actions..................................................................................................5
Safeguard Integrity in Corporate Reporting.................................................................................5
Timely and Balanced Disclosure.................................................................................................5
Protection of Rights of Security Holders.....................................................................................5
Risk Management........................................................................................................................6
Fair and Responsible Remuneration............................................................................................6
Risk Assessment..............................................................................................................................7
Identification of the Nature of the Company...............................................................................7
Market Overview.........................................................................................................................7
Business Strategy.........................................................................................................................8
Computation of Income Statement and Balance Sheet Ratio......................................................8
Audit Risk and Potential Steps Taken to Reduce the Risk..........................................................9
Conclusion.......................................................................................................................................9
References......................................................................................................................................10

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Implication of ASX Corporate Governance Principles by Woolworths Limited
The ASX Corporate Governance Council was established by ASX in the year 2002 for
developing and issuing principles-based recommendations on the corporate governance practices
to be implemented by the business entities in Australia listed on ASX. The standard corporate
governance principles are developed for promoting the trust and confidence of the investors in
the business operations of the entities and meeting the varying needs and expectations of the
stakeholders. The business entities listed on ASX need to ensure that their corporate governance
practices are developed in relation to the principles developed by the council. As such, the
compliance of Woolworths Limited as per the ASX Corporate governance principles can be
analyzed through reviewing its corporate governance statements and the information published
in the annual report. Woolworths Limited, one of the most recognized retailing brands of
Australia, develops and issues its corporate governance statement. The compliance of the
company’s corporate governance statement as per the principles of ASX Corporate Governance
Council is analyzed as follows:
Developing Solid Foundations For Management and Oversight
As per the ASX Corporate governance principles, the business entities listed on ASX
should disclose the necessary information regarding the roles and responsibilities of the board
and management. Also, the measures adopted by the company on monitoring and reviewing their
information should be disclosed. The corporate governance statement of Woolworths Limited
has effectively disclosed the role and responsibilities of the board. The Board is accountable to
provide a strategic direction toe the company for enhancing the shareholder value. The various
responsibilities of the Board is also disclosed in the statements such as financial oversight,
developing risk management framework, leadership selection, social responsibility and others. In
addition to this, the various duties of the directors such as representing the board to shareholders
and others are disclosed in the statement (Bazley, Hancock and Robinson, 2014). The
performance evaluation strategies adopted for reviewing the performance of Board and
management is also discussed in the corporate governance statement. As per the statement, the
Chairman is responsible for carrying out the performance evaluation process and the review of
the Board performance is carried out annually. The director performance is evaluated by the