Risk Management System

Austrian Post operates a comprehensive riskmanagement system integrating all business units and subsidiaries. This risk management system complies with the COSO standard “Enterprise Risk Management – Integrated Framework” in the version dated June 2017. The objective of risk management is to identify risks at an early stage and to analyse and evaluate them before going on to take appropriate measures designed to ensure that the company meets its business targets. Risks are identified, evaluated, monitored and documented in their overall context by a Group-wide risk management system in accordance with uniform principles. The Management Board defines the risk strategy and policy of the companyand sets out a framework for the risk management system.

Austrian Post’s risk policy focuses on safeguarding and sustainably increasing enterprise value and is incorporated into the corporate and sustainability strategy. Austrian Post is exposed to numerous risks. As a result, Austrian Post is prepared to take risks provided that the resulting portfolio of opportunities and risks is well-balanced and that they remain commensurate with the company’s legal circumstances and fundamental ethical values. The goals of safe-guarding and achieving a sustainable increase in enterprise value must not be jeopardised. For those risks that cannot be avoided, controlling measures are taken to safeguard the company’s assets and achieve a sustainable increase in shareholder value.
 
The most important steps in the risk management process are presented below:

 

Risk Management Process

Austrian Post’s opportunities and risks result from the overall risk environment and from the trends and changes that the company is exposed to or confronted with. We have identified significant opportunities and risks in the following business areas:

  1. Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) Risks
  2. Mail Market
  3. Parcel Market
  4. Staff Costs and Structure of Employment Contracts
  5. Logistics and Infrastructure Costs
  6. Key Investments
    1. bank99
    2. Financial Risks
  7. Financial Instruments
  8. Overall Legal/Regulatory Conditions
  9. IT And Other Technical Facilities
  10. Geopolitical And Economic Environment

Further details about Significant Risks faced by Austrian Post can be found in the current Annual Report.

The company continuously monitors the above described risks and opportunities. In response, appropriate measures are carried out and initiatives launched. Overall, the instability triggered by the macroeconomic and geopolitical environment is increasing in both a positive and a negative sense. A look at the company’s main opportunities and risks shows that, while the issues that Austrian Post is facing are changing and shifting, the company’s opportunities and risks are stable overall. As a result, there is no threat to the company’s survival from today’s perspective.