MAHINDRA & MAHINDRA LTD. | Integrated Annual Report 2022-23

135 MAHINDRA SKILL EXCELLENCE The Mahindra Skill Excellence is an internal platform that aims at holistic skill enhancement programme for the shop floor associates. Over the years, it has matured and in the current year, 2,967 associates have participated fromacross all its manufacturing units. A HEALTHY WORK ENVIRONMENT Signif icant emphasis was laid on improving health and wellness of employees through annual medical check-ups, screening camps, health promotional activities and awareness. Balanced nutritious food has become a way of life at Mahindra over the past few years. The Company maintains an 'Employee Health Index' at an individual- level and this has been a useful tool in identifying employees who require focussed counselling and monitoring. The 'Wellness App' is available to employees for quick access to critical health related information. Various awareness sessions on driving employees towards a healthy and better lifestyle, Post COVID care, emotional well-being, Mindfulness, etc. were touched upon by experts during the exclusive sessions for employees and their family members. Health and Wellness always remained priority of the Company's philosophy. The Company had a total of 23,495 permanent employees on its rolls st as on 31 March, 2023. INTERNAL CONTROL SYSTEMS Your Company maintains adequate internal control systems commensurate with the nature of its business and size and complexity of its operations. These are regularly tested for their effectiveness by Statutory as well as Internal Auditors. Your Company's Internal Financial Controls are deployed through the Internal Control - Integrated Framework (2013) issued by the Commi ttee of Sponsor ing Organisat ions of the Treadway Commission (COSO), that addresses material risks in your Company's operations and Financial reporting objectives. Further, the Internal Control Systems have been designed to provide reasonable assurance with regard to recording and providing reliable f inancial and operational information. In the highly networked IT environment of the Company, validation of IT Security receives focussed attention from IT specialists and Statutory Auditors. The Chief Internal Auditor reports administratively to the Chairman of the Board and functionally to the Audit Committee. The Internal Audit function develops an audit plan for the Company, which covers, inter alia, corporate, core business operations, as well as support functions. The Audit Committee reviews the annual internal audit plan. Signif icant audit observations are presented to the Audit Committee, together with the status of the management actions and the progress of the implementation of the recommendations. The Audit Committee reviews the adequacy and effectiveness of the Company's internal control environment and monitors the implementation of audit recommendations. During the year, the Company has taken steps to review and document the adequacy and operating effectiveness of internal controls. Nonetheless, your Company recognises that any internal control framework, no matter how well designed, has inherent limitations and accordingly, regular audits and review processes ensure that such systems are reinforced on an ongoing basis. Your Company's Management has carried out the evaluation of design and operative effectiveness of these controls and noted no signif icant def iciencies/material weaknesses that might impact f inancial statements as at the Balance Sheet date. The framework is a combination of entity level controls (including Enterprise Risk Management, Legal Compliance Framework, Internal Audit and Anti-Fraud Mechanisms such as Ethics Framework, Code of Conduct, Whistle-Blower Policy, etc.), process level controls, information technology based controls, period end financial reporting and closing controls.