8. Auditors

8.1 Duration of the mandate and term of office of the lead auditor

PricewaterhouseCoopers Ltd (PwC), Lucerne (Switzerland), have been external auditors for Zehnder Group AG since 2019. They also audit the consolidated financial statements of the Zehnder Group. The auditor is elected at the Annual General Meeting for a term of one year. Thomas Ebinger took over as lead auditor on 1 October 2020. The rotation rhythm for the lead auditor corresponds to a maximum term of seven years in accordance with the legal requirement.

8.2 Auditing fees

The financial statements of Zehnder subsidiaries are audited by various auditing firms, including PwC. In the 2020 reporting year, various auditing firms invoiced a total of EUR 849,000 (incl. expenses) for auditing individual accounts and the consolidated financial statements. Of this, EUR 504,000 were paid to PwC. No audit-related services were invoiced.

8.3 Additional fees

A total of EUR 1,914,000 were charged for taxation services, legal services and consulting services relating to M&A activities throughout the Group in 2020. Of this, EUR 240,000 were paid to PwC.

8.4 Information instruments pertaining to the external audit

The auditor attends the meetings of the Audit Committee. At these meetings, it presents significant information on the financial statements of the companies audited. The auditor is evaluated and monitored by the Audit Committee, which makes recommendations to the Board of Directors. In particular, the Audit Committee evaluates the auditing plans from the auditor, as well as the auditor’s remuneration and performance. In 2020, PwC attended all four meetings of the Audit Committee.