How we report

AngloGold Ashanti’s Report to Society is published on an annual basis, coinciding with the financial reporting cycle.

THE PROCESS FOLLOWED:

The contents of the report are developed and refined during the year with the process going through a number of stages as outlined below.

MARCH	The Report to Society is issued as a printed document to a select group of stakeholders, and an extensive group of stakeholders is advised of its publication on the website. The Country/Operational Reports are distributed to local stakeholders, and are translated as necessary. Operations are asked to distribute these reports widely and to solicit feedback.
APRIL/MAY	Following the production of the report for the previous year, a meeting is convened of all discipline heads, corporate affairs personnel and others to deliberate on the previous report with regard to its contents, its relevance and the feedback received from stakeholders. Key issues for the current year are also identified. The independent auditors present their management report to the group, and action plans are developed to address any issues of concern.
DURING THE YEAR	Feedback is sought and received from stakeholders through formal and informal interactions. Online and printed feedback forms are monitored.
JUNE/JULY	Site visits are undertaken to targeted operations by the report writing team. This is done on a rotational basis, with two to three countries visited every year to facilitate greater interaction between the operating and reporting processes; to identify potential issues of concern for reporting; and to collect material for case studies. During the year under review site visits were undertaken to the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Tanzania.
AUGUST	A formal meeting is convened with discipline heads to review reporting trends; to identify material issues for reporting; and to develop a plan for the reporting period, including the assignment of roles and responsibilities. Any additional reporting requirements are considered and separate reporting plans are developed. In 2009, for example, this entailed greater reporting on payments to government (in terms of the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative – EITI), and the International Council of Mining and Metals (ICMM) assurance guidelines were taken into account. Format changes to the report are proposed and debated. In 2008, this has resulted in the addition of a section on human rights, more extensive reporting on human rights and security, and on climate change. Significant issues that merit inclusion as case studies in the printed document are also identified at this session. The audit engagement process starts and this includes the identification of key performance indicators (KPIs) and the risk profile. Individual interviews are set up with the discipline heads by the report writing team to identify the major developments during the year – in that discipline specifically, and within the company generally. Case studies that illustrate the challenges and opportunities faced by the group are identified. The report outline is developed. The group’s internal and formal risk management processes and issues are reviewed to ensure that the issues identified through these processes are covered in the reporting process.
SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER	Questionnaires (developed in close collaboration discipline heads) are issued via an online system to each operation, and in each discipline covered by the report. Sign-off on these questionnaires is required by the head of each operation.
OCTOBER	Writing of the case studies and the sections of the report begins.
NOVEMBER	Assurance of the KPIs by the independent auditors on third quarter data is undertaken. This is carried out in collaboration with Internal Audit. The proposed contents of the report are submitted to the Disclosure Committee for review.
JANUARY	Year-end data is submitted and the assurance process proceeds.
FEBRUARY/MARCH	Verification of the accuracy of the report is sought from operational heads, regional heads, the Disclosure Committee and, finally, the board committee on Safety, Health and Sustainable Development. The Economic performance section is reviewed by the Audit Committee. The report is reviewed by the external auditors.
MARCH	Report is published.

CONTENTS OF THE REPORT

Because of the scale of the company and the range of operations, and the circumstances and challenges that it faces, it is not possible or even sensible to report on every issue. The report takes cognisance of the principle of the GRI and ICMM in determining contents, as reported below.

Balance and materiality

A balance is sought between reporting on global concerns and issues that are material to the group in the Report to Society, and local matters in the Country and Operational Reports. In this respect specific feedback was sought and received from stakeholders who reiterated their desire for reporting on material issues on the one hand, and the need for a comprehensive report on the other.

Focus on material issues

Using the guidance of the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI)and the ICMM principles for assessing the materiality of the issues, AngloGold Ashanti endeavours to report on those issues that:

• are important and meaningful to the group, both from an operational and risk point of view;
• are important and meaningful to stakeholders and business partners as a consequence of their having identified them as such;
• take into account basic expectations as set out in international standards and agreements with which the company is committed to comply, and reflect the group’s support for, and are in accordance with, the Voluntary Guidelines and Principles to which it subscribes;
• are topical in the light of the broader public debate – climate change, and human rights and security, for example; and
• ensure that the group is transparent in its reporting, and provides a complete picture within the context of the sustainability of its business.

Sustainability framework

Due cognisance is given to the sustainability framework within which the group operates, and to the fact that specific issues of concern may vary from operation to operation, depending on local circumstances and needs. Examples of this include:

• reporting on human rights and security in respect of the group’s employment of private and public security personnel in, for example, the DRC, Colombia, Guinea and Ghana;
• reporting on HIV & AIDS, which is a major concern in southern Africa, and malaria, which is crucially important in West and East Africa; and
• land management and, specifically, relocation at the African operations (outside southern Africa).

Values-based reporting

As AngloGold Ashanti is a values-driven organisation, its values and business principles underpin everything that it does and how it reports. The group’s values were reviewed and renewed during the year, and this report reflects the changes that have been implemented.

Accordingly, each section of this report not only handles a particular topic, but also a key value for the company.