BPI Group Corporate Governance Report 275

QUALITY CONTROL SYSTEM

Deloitte applies in Portugal the quality control system

conceived globally by DTTL, which conforms to the provisions

of the International Standard on Quality Control 1 (“ISQC 1”).

This quality control system was supplemented with applicable

Portuguese rules.

The quality control system is backed by a number of policies,

namely those dealing with the following aspects:

j accountability and leadership commitment with the internalquality control system;

j ethical requisites;

j acceptance and continuation of relationships with clients andengagements;

j development of its professional staff;

j process of consultations on technical matters;

j work execution;

j work quality monitoring review;

j review of professional practice.

Accountability and leadership commitment

The functioning of the quality control system is assured in the

first place by the designation of a partner with vast experience

in the auditing field (Reputation and Risk Leader), who has no

day-to-day management responsibilities, whose mandate in the

relevant jurisdiction involves assuming leadership in all matters

relating to quality, reputation and independence.

Ethical requisites

Deloitte conducts its activity based on ethical values and

principles which have a global reach and are common to all the

areas of activity undertaken in Portugal. An internal Code of

Ethics was published which is based on International Ethics

Standards Board for Accountants (“IESBA”) of International

Federation of Accountants (“IFAC”) requirements, while in

certain instances it is even more restrictive. The Code of Ethics

is delivered to all professional staff as soon as they are

admitted to Deloitte, and updates and periodic alerts are

transmitted by means of training courses and internal

disclosure campaigns developed for this purpose.

Confirmations are required annually of compliance with the

Code of Ethics in force.

Deloitte utilises various management tools for monitoring

compliance with ethical requirements (in particular

independence), namely:

j GIMS – monitoring of the financial interests of partners andmanagers

j DESC – global tool which permits identifying all the entitiesto which audit services are rendered by the DTTL networkwhich are public-interest entities

j Dcontact – client data base of companies of the Deloittenetwork in Portugal

The post of Ethics Director is occupied by a partner with

powers for this purpose at all companies of the Deloitte

network in Portugal.

Acceptance and continuation of relationships with clients and

engagements

There are internal policies at Deloitte for accepting clients and

engagements encompassing a series of prior verifications that

influence the actual provision of services or the acceptance of

clients. The themes which are the object of verification are

diverse, such as for example, the reputation of entities and of

their managers, the nature of their operations, the internal

control environment, the motives of management and directors,

the skills required, independence and any conflicts of interest,

the reasonableness of deadlines imposed, amongst other

issues. Compliance with these policies is assured by a series of

internal control procedures, as well as by means of

management tools which permit documenting the verifications

carried out, namely the Deloitte Risk Management System

(DRMS) for purposes documenting the acceptance and

continuation processes.

5.4. DELOITTE’S POLICIES AND PROCEDURESDeloitte, an audit firm registered with the CMVM and appointed

by BPI, has, according to information supplied by it to BPI,

implemented policies and procedures designed to ensure that it

provides quality services and complies with all the applicable

independence and ethical rules.

276 Banco BPI | Annual Report 2011

Development of its professional staff

One of Deloitte’s principal objectives is the fostering of

employees’ talent and the development of their leadership

potential, offering rewarding career opportunities and , above

all, which constitute a permanent challenge to their

capabilities.

The very rigorous standards in terms of professional

recruitment, continuous training and the stringent evaluation

process of staff are the essential pillars of that strategy.

Technical consultations process

There are in-house policies laid down at Deloitte for consulting

specialists (accounting, audit, financial matters, taxation, legal

aspects etc.) and accessing the corresponding documentation.

These consultations can be referred to internal or external

specialists.

In order to respond to consultation needs, a structure was set

up internally which consists of: (i) a group of professional

specialists in international financial reporting standards who

maintain regularly contacts with Deloitte’s international

excellence centres in this domain; (ii) a support group for

ethics, independence and conflicts of interest-related issues

has been set up; (iii) a practice support group for technical

audit matters.

Execution of engagements

Engagements are executed by scrupulously-selected teams,

with the various individuals being designated according to their

experience and their specific knowledge of the various sectors

of activity. Procedures are defined which guarantee the

monitoring of the workloads of partners and professional staff

so as to ensure that they have sufficient time for complying

with their professional obligations in an appropriate manner.

Deloitte boasts a group of technical staff with expertise in

computer auditing and information systems. These employees

are involved in the audit assignments in which the use of IT

equipment by the entity concerned is classified as important.

In order to encourage specialisation amongst its professionals

and enhance their response capability to the needs of various

clients, Deloitte decided to adopt an in-house organisation

focusing on certain industrial segments.

In the execution of audit and related assignments, the Deloitte

audit methodology is followed – Deloitte Audit Approach

(“DAA”). Audit work is backed by electronic files, using

specific software developed by DTTL (AS/2). The procedures to

be executed are described in detailed work programmes,

designed for each one of the work areas.

Review of work quality control

All audit work is subject to an internal review conducted by a

qualified and experienced audit professional not involved in the

audit. This review is carried out during the course of the

assignment, and is concluded before the issue of the report.

The nomination of professionals who execute the review

adheres to a meticulous process, aimed at ensuring that there

are no conflicts of interest, that the independence principles

are observed and that the appointed reviewer has appropriate

competencies.

Review of professional practice

The various internal quality control processes are periodically

subjected to verifications for evaluating their operability and

effectiveness. These examinations essentially consist of an

analysis of representative samples and are performed by

independent persons.

Besides these checks, all the DTTL network’s member firms

are subject to periodic external reviews of their professional

practice. These reviews are carried out by partners of another

member firm, take place with a maximum frequency of three

years and cover a representative sample of the partners and

audit assignments undertaken in that year. These external

reviews also contemplate the main processes of the firm’s

quality control system.

It should be noted that in each of the last three years Deloitte

was subjected to the quality control review carried out by the

Portuguese Institute of Statutory Auditors (Ordem dos

Revisores Oficiais de Contas - OROC), pursuant to article 68 of

its Statutes.