Internal guidelines associated with record keeping and approval procedures
Actions
Internal guidelines associated with record keeping and approval procedures
Apr 2, 2021
Ecopetrol's Comprehensive Policy, within its fundamental pillars, includes operational excellence, by which those risks that could impact the achievement of objectives, business continuity, and our reputation are identified and managed, and appropriate controls have been established to mitigate such risks.
Likewise, the Code of Ethics and Conduct establishes that Ecopetrol S.A. and its Business Group:
- Comply with the provisions that apply to it, contained in the Political Constitution of Colombia, the local and international laws, as well as with internal regulations and current regulations in the jurisdictions in which it conducts its business. This includes, but is not limited to: laws, decrees, procedures, manuals, guides, instructions and other formal guidelines. In particular, internal control provisions, the fight against money laundering, terrorist financing, fraud, bribery and corruption, and others that regulate the mitigation of compliance risks are accepted.
- Ecopetrol has an Internal Control System that, as regards accounting matters, ensures that the assets of the company are managed and administered in due form and that, with reasonable detail, they reflect in an accurate, correct manner the transactions and disposal of company assets.
- All financial information to be reported internally or externally must be correct and ensure completeness and accuracy; therefore, any errors must be reported immediately. Accounting records will be supported in a secure, reliable, and systematized manner.
- Each worker at Ecopetrol is part of the Internal Control System; therefore, they must comply strictly with the controls for which they are accountable, in such a manner that the accuracy of the financial statements can be certified against auditors and government authorities in Colombia and abroad.
On the other hand, Ecopetrol's accounting policies are included and described in the Company's financial statements and published on the web page (See 20F) and the corporate regulations are published on the company's intranet and can be consulted by all employees.
Ecopetrol has a robust financial statement preparation process that includes controls to mitigate the risk of inconsistencies and mistakes in the application of accounting policies and adequate record-keeping procedures, in compliance with the FCPA, SOX, and LAFT.
To ensure agility, clarity, transparency, adequate segregation of duties, and to promote synergies between Ecopetrol and the Group's companies, there is a matrix of delegations and attributions that governs decision-making and approval processes.
