Corporate governance is a system to manage and supervise the company. It defines how rights and duties are distributed among company stakeholders, including shareholders, executive management, governing bodies, employees, and customers. The corporate governance system is a set of legal and executive methods and procedures committing us to maintain a balanced relationship between the company and its workforce.
The aim is to engage in responsible, qualified, and transparent business management focused on the company’s long-term success and the protection of stakeholder interests.
The Škoda Auto Group attaches great store by the fact that it is perceived as a successful, transparent and open company by employees, business partners, all customers and the public at large.
Since 2007, the Škoda Auto Group has subscribed to relevant recommendations and rules set out in the Corporate Governance Code Based on OECD Principles (the “Code”), in the version revised under the guidance of the Czech Securities Commission in 2004. By continuously improving its internal processes and rules in accordance with the Code, the company wishes to fuel support for transparency and ethical behaviour in business practices in the Czech Republic.
The concept of corporate social responsibility has always been a key concern for Škoda Auto. The company has forged strong ties not only with its employees and with their families, but also with those living near its factories. In its corporate social responsibility, Škoda Auto’s main focus is on road safety, technical training and education, assistance for children, barrier-free mobility, employee welfare, and harmony with the region. Škoda Auto also sponsors numerous cultural and sports activities on both the national and international stage. In addition, to guarantee customer satisfaction Škoda Auto encourages its suppliers to adopt CSR principles and cultivates good relations with them.
The Škoda Auto Group’s risk management structure is built on a common principle of risk management within the Volkswagen Group complying with German legislative requirements. Risk management, as an operational component of the corporate process, must pinpoint individual risks down to the last detail, assess how great they are, take action to eliminate them, and document how effective the response has been.
The Škoda Auto Group’s global operations on automotive markets throw up numerous risks that could dent its financial performance and business success. At the same time, economic and regulatory changes can offer opportunities that the group then strives to seize so that it is able to consolidate and build on its competitive position.
Škoda Auto a.s. as a company and the Škoda Auto Group as a whole are rigorous in their duty of adherence to legislation, internal regulations, ethical principles and other voluntary commitments. Compliance reaches beyond business relations to embrace activities both within and outside the group. This is the Škoda Auto Group’s way of signalling loudly and clearly that its conduct will echo the requirements of legal and ethical rules on competition, finances and taxes, environmental protection and employee relations, including the safeguarding of equal opportunities.
Škoda Auto a.s. has a Governance, Risk & Compliance Department to oversee the pursuit of these values. This department’s work includes the provision of consulting on all compliance-related issues and the implementation of appropriate measures to raise awareness of the intrinsic value of compliance among the workforce.
The Škoda Auto Group staunchly believes that economic success is sustainable only if everyone sticks to the rules. Voluntary standards – consisting of statutory and internal requirements, obligations stemming from the commitments that have been made, and ethical principles – are a company mainstay and form the bedrock of its decision-making. Compliance activities provide a means to implement strategy formulated by the Volkswagen Group and are part of global compliance efforts.
The Code of Conduct sums up fundamental principles underlying the conduct of Škoda Auto Group employees and is instrumental in responding to legal and ethical challenges.
The Škoda Group’s reputation is a core value relying on the resolve shown by employees around the world to act in keeping with our Code of Conduct and all laws. The “Code of Conduct at Škoda Auto Group” has become part and parcel of our corporate culture.
Download the Code of Conduct for further information:
The Volkswagen Group, to which Škoda Auto a.s. belongs, runs an Ombudsman System, set up to handle reports on matters relating to actual or suspected corruption. All of our employees can get in touch with one of two independent ombudsmen to report any inklings of corruption, no matter how slight. Likewise, ombudsman services are also open to our suppliers, customers and anyone else who comes into contact with Škoda Auto a.s.
The whole point of the system is to guard against corruption by helping to root out and handle any cases that crop up in this area. In their activities, the ombudsmen are not allowed to disclose the origin of their reports, so no one who comes forward will be outed.
Further information about the Volkswagen Group’s Ombudsman System can be found here:
This statement is made in accordance with Section 54 of the United Kingdom’s Modern Slavery Act of 2015.