Internal controls

Our internal control system reviews our financial, operational and compliance controls and our risk management procedures to provide assurance over the reliability of our reporting.

Improving performance

We prepare reports, financial statements and non financial records that give a true and fair view of our affairs using appropriate accounting and reporting practices, which are applied and supported by reasonable and prudent judgments.

Each year, the leaders of Group businesses complete a detailed questionnaire to confirm that our internal controls are operating effectively throughout Rio Tinto and that our businesses are compliant with our financial and non financial policies, standards and mandated practices.

Anyone who becomes aware of or suspects any violations of our obligations is encouraged to report the facts or their suspicions directly to senior management or through the Rio Tinto confidential whistle blowing system, Speak-OUT.

Results

There were no significant changes in the internal controls or in other factors that could significantly affect internal controls of each of Rio Tinto plc and Rio Tinto Limited subsequent to the date of their most recent evaluation.

Rio Tinto maintains an open door approach to employee concerns. Our Speak-OUT system is available to supplement other avenues of issue identification and resolution, such as speaking to a manager, or contacting a human resources representative, or a member of the legal, assurance or compliance teams.

Our Speak-OUT system generally operates as a mechanism for employees to report any type of concern or suggestion, however in some regions (such as in the EU) it is limited to reporting serious breaches of law, such as financial irregularities, insider trading, competition law allegations, or bribery or fraud issues.

Comparing the whistle blowing systems of different companies is difficult, due to the number of variable factors, including corporate culture, locations where the company operates (country culture) and scope of application of the system.

Consistently, year on year, two thirds of our Speak-OUT callers choose to remain anonymous. Our service provider indicates this is consistent with their experience of industry norms.  The types of issues raised have been fairly consistent, year on year, over the period that the Speak-OUT programme has been operating.

In 2008, the Alcan Ombudsman programme ran in conjunction with the Speak-OUT programme.