Silent and Shadow Reports for BHP Billiton Essay

Silent and Shadow Reports for BHP Billiton - Essay Example Used as models are the silent and shadow accounts from Tesco and HSBC, written by the aforementioned authors, and available at http://www.st-andrews.ac.uk/~csearweb/aptopractice/silentacc.html The same style and format are adapted and applied to BHP Billiton, as follows. Silent Report Mission and Policy Statements We are the world’s largest diversified natural resources company. Our corporate objective is to create long-term shareholder value through the discovery, acquisition, development and marketing of natural resources. We pursue this through our consistent strategy of owning and operating large, long-life, low-cost, expandable, upstream assets diversified by commodity, geography and market. This strategy means more predictable business performance over time which, in turn, underpins the creation of value for our shareholders, customers, employees and, importantly, the communities in which we operate. We are among the world’s top producers of major commodities, inc luding aluminium, energy coal, metallurgical coal, copper, manganese, iron ore, uranium, nickel, silver and titanium minerals, and have substantial interests in oil and gas. We continue to invest in the future. Corporate Governance Statement The objective of BHP Billiton is to create long term value for shareholders through the discovery, development and conversion of natural resources, and the provision of innovative customer and market-focused solutions (Corporate Objective). The role of the BHP Billiton Board is to represent the shareholders and to promote and protect the interests of the Company. It does so by governing the Group. The Board has developed processes relating to: A. its own tasks and activities (Board Membership and Process) B. the matters specifically reserved for Board decision-making, the authority delegated to the Chief Executive Officer (CEO), the accountability of the CEO for that authority, and guidance on the management of the relationship between the Board and the CEO (Board and CEO Relationship); and C. the boundaries on CEO action (CEO Limits). Compliance with corporate governance BHP Billiton complies with the governance standards in our home jurisdictions of Australia and the UK, and with the governance requirements that apply to us as a result of our New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) listing and our registration with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in the US. There are summarised in the Corporate Governance Statement, the Remuneration Report, the Directors’ Report and the financial statements. Business principles and values The implementation of the Group’s strategy and our ongoing performance depends on the quality and motivation of our people. Our purpose is to create long-term shareholder value through the discovery, acquisition, development and marketing of natural resources. Our strategy is to own and operate large, low-cost, expandable, upstream assets diversified by commodity, geography and market. Our focus on the safety and health of our workforce, our fundamental drive for sustainability across all our business operations, our concern for the environment and communities within which we work, and our management of operational risks are reflected through our remuneration policy and structures. Board and committee structure The Board will always have a majority of Directors who are non-executive and are judged by the Board to be independent of judgement and character and free of material relationships with the Group and other entities and people that might influence or would be perceived by shareholders to influence such judgement. The Board will have the balance of non-executive and executive Directors that is effective for the promotion of shareholder interests and the governance of the Group. The