8. Auditors

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

PricewaterhouseCoopers Ltd (PwC), Lucerne (CH), has been the external auditor for Zehnder Group AG since 2019. It also audits the consolidated financial statements of 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 lead auditor's rotation regime 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 reporting year 2023, various auditing firms invoiced a total of EUR 991,000 (incl. expenses) for audit of individual accounts and the consolidated financial statements. Of this, EUR 643,000 was paid to PwC. This also includes the audit of the sustainability report.

8.3 Additional fees

The additional fees for services provided by PwC throughout the Group during fiscal year 2023 amount to EUR 96,000, thereof EUR 67,000 for tax consulting and EUR 29,000 for other services. Additional services rendered by PwC outside the audit mandate are compatible with the audit assignment.

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 auditor's plans and its remuneration and performance. In 2023, PwC attended all four meetings of the Audit Committee.