Personal Independence at Deloitte Tohmatsu Group

Personal independence rules at Deloitte Tohmatsu Group

What is independence?

Independence means to remain in a independent position both of mind and in appearance and objectivity are exercised with respect to Audit Clients and their group companies (hereinafter referred to as the "Audit Clients"). 

Who has to maintain independence?

Independence laws and regulations require Deloitte Tohmatsu Group Partners and Professional Staff, and their Immediate Family Members ^*1.

In the Deloitte Tohmatsu Group, Professional Staff refers to those who provide any professional services to clients regardless whether which is audit service or not.
 

^*1 Specifically, Immediate Family Members are:
ⅰ Spouse or spousal equivalent (partners of the same gender or partners not legally married may be included)
ⅱ Dependents (whether living together or not)

If Immediate Family Members or Close Family Members ^*2 manage entities as a sole proprietorship, independence rules are applied to such entities.

^*2 Close Family Members refers to a parent, child or sibling who is not an Immediate Family Member. Depending on the applicable independence laws and regulations, step-parents and step-children may be included in this term.

What is personal independence?

Independence that Deloitte Tohmatsu Group Partners and Professional Staff, and their Immediate Family Members should maintain is called personal independence.

In order to maintain personal independence, there may be restrictions on having the following relationships with the Audit Clients:

1. Financial relationships
2. Employment or other relationships
    

Financial relationships

What are financial relationships in personal independence?

Deloitte Tohmatsu Group establishes an independence policy about financial relationships to comply with laws and regulations regarding personal independence.

The main independence policy about financial relationships of Deloitte Tohmatsu Group is as follows:
 

Employment or other relationship

Employment of Immediate Family Members and Close Family Members

An Immediate Family Member or Close Family Mymber of a Partner or Professional staff member may be a director or officer of an Audit Client, or may have an accounting or financial reporting oversight role.

In such cases, the Partner or Professional Staff may be removed from the engagement team since providing services to the Audit Client where an Immediate Family Member or Close Family Member works may raise independence issues.
 

Application Systems for complying with laws and regulations of independence

Deloitte Tohmatsu Group uses the following internal systems to prevent any violations of independence rules.

What is DESC (Deloitte Entity Search and Compliance System)?

This is a system for searching for Audit Clients of the Deloitte Tohmatsu Group which require independence. Partners and Professional Staff of Deloitte Tohmatsu Group can use DESC to identify whether a particular company is as an Audit Client and applicable independence policies.

What is GIMS (Global Independence Monitoring System)?

This is a system in which Partners and Professional Staff of Deloitte Tohmatsu Group report accounts and financial instruments held by them and their Immediate Family Members.Partners and Professional Staff can use GIMS to confirm whether an account or financial instruments is relevant to an Audit Client. If the registered accounts or financial instruments become prohibited, an alert is automatically delivered.