During the year under review, the Supervisory Board performed the duties incumbent upon it in accordance with the law and the Articles of Association and continually advised and monitored the Executive Board. The Supervisory Board was regularly kept informed about business developments and the situation of the Company. It supervised the management of the Company by the Executive Board in particular on the basis of written and verbal reports. The benchmarks for the supervision were the legality, correctness, suitability and profitability of the Group-wide management of the business by the Executive Board. The reports of the Executive Board fulfilled the requirements set by the law, by good corporate governance and the Supervisory Board in terms of both their subject matter and their scope. As well as the reports, the Supervisory Board also received additional information from the Executive Board. The reports and information issued by the Executive Board was examined in terms of its plausibility and was critically acknowledged and questioned by the Supervisory Board. A catalogue created by the Supervisory Board and constantly checked for necessary adjustments lists the kinds of business transactions for which the Executive Board requires the approval of the Supervisory Board. Business transactions requiring Supervisory Board approval were examined and discussed with the Executive Board. The Supervisory Board gave its approval for, among other things, the acquisition of shareholdings and for the submission of bids for major projects.
In face-to-face discussions outside the Supervisory Board meetings and its committees, the Chairman of the Supervisory Board and the Chairman of the Executive Board examined the situation of the Company, its further development and issues above and beyond that.
Supervisory Board meetings
There were four regular meetings of the Supervisory Board in financial year 2007.
In addition to matters relating to current business and major projects, issues of economic development, corporate strategy and the position of Bilfinger Berger in relation to its competitors were discussed in detail with the Executive Board. The Supervisory Board also dealt intensively with the acquisition of O'Hare Engineering and approved the takeover. Before issuing approval of the acquisition, all major aspects were examined, such as the results of the due diligence, the earnings situation, business plan, quality of management, effects on the consolidated financial statements and integration concept. The Supervisory Board received regular reports on the actual development of new subsidiaries compared with the assumptions made at the time of acquisition.