icon-close

Glencore: Supporting a debt reduction programme through audit

Deloitte served as Glencore plc’s auditor during the commodity downturn in 2015/2016 including supporting their debt reduction plan through the audit process, and transactional support services.

Glencore plc is one of the world’s largest diversified, vertically integrated producers, processors and marketers of natural commodities, headquartered in Switzerland. Deloitte has served as Glencore’s auditor since its Initial Public Offering in 2011. In 2015/2016, in response to declining commodity prices and investor concerns, Glencore initiated a debt reduction and capital preservation plan which included a capital raising, asset sales, precious metal streaming transactions and capex reductions.

Our deep knowledge of the client’s business enabled us to support the company through this challenging period by focusing the audit effort on the debt reduction plan, including reviewing complex transactions and the associated accounting. Deloitte also provided vendor due diligence and transactional support, assisting in the timely sale of certain assets by utilising our historical knowledge of the business to support management’s efforts.

We provided assurance to management, the board and investors over the financial performance and position of Glencore, which included consideration of the accounting impacts of the various debt reduction measures, amongst them several highly complex transactions.

“Deloitte as our auditor provided both the assurance to management and the board in relation to our financial statements, but also were able to assist with our debt reduction plan. They provided first-rate advice leveraging their knowledge of our business and our working style through the entire process and were always on hand at short notice to support us.”

Steven Kalmin, CFO, Glencore plc

icon-close

J. Safra Sarasin Group: Continually enhancing our audit capabilities with innovative solutions

J. Safra Sarasin Group, as a family-owned private bank, acts as a proactive consolidator in the private banking market. The Group, present in more than 25 locations worldwide, continues to seek appropriate locations to best serve its clients and execute its growth strategy. Each of the Group’s entities receives, generates, processes and stores data in their day-to-day operations, thereby gathering massive amounts of available data that often remains untapped.

We have audited J. Safra Sarasin Group since 2013 and continually extend the scope of our services. Shifting from being compliance-focused to becoming creator of high-value services and support, we are using new, innovative approaches and technologies. The analytic tools we deploy allow the interpretation and communication of meaningful data, transforming the way we audit the Group. In addition to our regular audit, we also leverage the tools to map the Group’s clients, outline their risk profiles and shed light on how the Group serves them globally, as well as capture potential new business opportunities. These analytic tools not only support our financial audits, but also offer innovative ways to revolutionise regulatory assurance in many areas. As an example, to aid J. Safra Sarasin Group to further comprehend the bigger picture and get near real-time overviews on cross-border business or suitability elements, we implemented a tool that reveals patterns, trends and outliers in these areas.

The implementation and use of various analytic tools allowed us to create many insights and to bring further value to the governing bodies.

“Today’s increasingly complex regulatory environment requires that the audit be more dynamic and insightful.”

Ilan Hayim, Chairman of the Board, Bank J. Safra Sarasin Ltd

“Deloitte has demonstrated their expertise, providing us with further insightful added value, while continuing to deliver quality regulatory audits.”

Marcelo Szerman, Chief Operating Officer, Bank J. Safra Sarasin Ltd

The challenge

The increased scrutiny and changing expectations from regulators and stakeholders combined with the rapid pace of technological change and the ever-increasing regulation are generating key challenges for today’s organisations.

They not only need to comply with ever changing and more complex regulatory requirements, but they are also required to produce financial statements and reports that bring a higher level of trust and transparency to their stakeholders and capital markets.

Therefore, boards, audit committees, regulators and investors are expecting more than just a statutory audit from the auditors.
They are looking for agile quality audits that provide greater clarity of metrics to help them make better strategic decisions and to help prevent, for example, corporate frauds or collapse. They are also looking to get improved assurance around the governance of their company.

Our Next Generation Audit approach enables us to go broader and deeper to unlock relevant insight that will help companies drive their performance, understand what could be improved, and prepare for the future.

Our approach

Consistent

We apply standardised processes and tools to deliver a comprehensive, streamlined superior audit experience across the globe.

Digital

We use cutting-edge technologies and proprietary tools based on Machine Learning and AI to deliver a more efficient, high quality, forward looking audit.

Insightful

Our multi-disciplinary model, complemented by the skills and industry experience of our people, enables us to provide additional value and assurance on items outside financial statements.

Agile

We optimise the execution of our audit to match our clients’ needs and consistently raise the quality bar.





Benefits

Continuous improved audit quality thanks to our standardised and optimised approach and culture of innovation


Increased transparency and better communication flow on the audit process through enhanced technology


Improved decision-making empowered by advanced data analytics as well as skills and expertise from our people


Greater level of confidence and assurance for all stakeholders


Our audit experience brings value to the future of your business

Why Deloitte?

  • Worldwide network

    Belonging to Deloitte's Global and North West Europe networks enables us to leverage processes, systems, know-how, and resources to serve our clients no matter where they operate.

  • Broad experience

    Our auditors have deep experience working for multinationals, large national companies and mid-sized businesses, and can provide best practices from every industry.

  • A culture of innovation

    Deloitte's multiyear innovation investment to transform the audit delivery is making a tangible impact for clients, regulators and capital markets alike.

Case studies

Supporting a debt reduction programme through audit

How we provided assurance beyond financial statements for Glencore

Read more icon-chevron-arrow

Continually enhancing our audit capabilities with innovative solutions

How we enabled an efficient audit and brought strategic insights on regulatory assurance for J. Safra Sarasin Group

Read more icon-chevron-arrow

The team

Alessandro Miolo

Alessandro Miolo

Managing Partner, Audit & Assurance

Email Alessandro icon-chevron-arrow

+41 58 279 7227

Joelle Herbette

Joelle Herbette

Partner, Audit & Assurance, Technology Team Lead

Email Joelle icon-chevron-arrow

+41 58 279 8146

Fabien Lussu

Fabien Lussu

Partner, Audit & Assurance, Lead Partner for Corporates

Email Fabien icon-chevron-arrow

+41 58 279 8049

Alexandre Buga

Alexandre Buga

Partner, Swiss Financial Services Audit & Assurance leader

Email Alexandre icon-chevron-arrow

+41 58 279 8452