Internal Control

The Internal Control staff function conducted 61 internal audits in 22 countries during the year. Of these, 19 were IT security audits. Similar to the preceding year, the main focus
was on North America and Europe, in addition to audits of a number of units in Asia. The total number of audits was on a par with 2024. Most of the internal controls were conducted by the Internal Control staff function in cooperation with internal resources from other staff functions with specialist competence in such areas as purchasing and finance, or jointly with controllers from various business areas.

The Legal Affairs staff function carries out legal reviews and follows an annual work plan presented to the Audit Committee. The plan is based on the risk assessment and encompasses prioritized companies, business areas and legal processes within the Group and specifies that reviews must be carried out at least every four years In 2025, the Legal Affairs staff function conducted 33 legal reviews of subsidiaries in 18 different countries.

In conjunction with a legal review, subsidiaries are analyzed and examined in predefined areas, such as quality of contracts and compliance with Group policies and procedures in the following areas: export control, management of agents and distributors, prevention of bribery and corruption. Legal reviews are conducted according to a structured program in all regions where Trelleborg conducts operations, with the aim of reviewing each legal operating unit at least every four years.

The Group’s lawyers act as internal reviewers, and the review results in a protocol indicating the status of the various control points. Thereafter, each operational unit is responsible for addressing any identified gaps and reporting back on the status.

Internal audits of IT security were carried out by external IT consultants together with the Group IT staff function. In 2025, the Internal Control staff function also worked on a broad front with reviews of all processes and, apart from certain IT audits, all were carried out on site at the respective units.

Activities in focus 2026

The number of planned internal audits amounts to approximately 70 and comprises about 50 units in some 20 countries. Geographically, the focus of the Internal Control staff function will remain primarily on Europe and North America next year, although a number of audits will also take place in Asia. Except for some IT audits, the plan is that all internal audits will take place physically on site in the local unit. In 2026, the Internal Control staff function will continue to work broadly with reviews of all processes.
Legal reviews will continue in 2026 to the same extent as in 2025. Next year, the number of sustainability audits will be increased and these will be conducted according to the same process as for the other audit areas.