Corporate Governance Report  | continued partners, suppliers and our communities and to  treat all our people with respect and to embrace  our responsibilities in the areas of health, safety  and the environment. (which the Board has determined to be low) and  reviewed the principal risks and uncertainties  outlined in the Directors’ Report. The  Audit  Committee  also met with, and received reports  from, the external auditors. The Chairman of the  Audit Committee  reported regularly to the Board  on all significant issues considered by the  Committee and the minutes of its meetings were  circulated to all Directors. Group management has responsibility for major  strategic development and financing decisions.  Responsibility for operational issues is devolved,  subject to limits of authority, to product group and  operating company management. Management at  all levels is responsible for internal control over the  business functions that have been delegated. This  embedding of the system of internal control  throughout the Group’s operations ensures that  the organisation is capable of responding quickly  to evolving business risks and that significant  internal control issues, should they arise, are  reported promptly to appropriate levels of  management. During the year, the Board and  Audit Committee received, on a regular basis, reports from  management on the key risks to the business  and the steps being taken to manage such risks.  They also considered whether the significant risks  faced by the Group were being identified,  evaluated and appropriately managed, having  regard to the balance of risk, cost and  opportunity. In addition, the  Audit Committee  met  with internal auditors on a regular basis and  satisfied itself as to the adequacy of the Group’s  internal control system; met with the Chairman of  the  Remuneration Committee  to ensure that the  Group’s remuneration policies and structures  were in line with the Group’s “risk appetite”  The Directors confirm that, in addition to the  monitoring carried out by the  Audit Committee  under its terms of reference, they have reviewed  the effectiveness of the Group’s risk  management and internal control systems up to  and including the date of approval of the financial  statements. This had regard to all material  controls, including financial, operational and  compliance controls that could affect the Group’s  business. The Code of Business Conduct has been  supplemented with the following new or updated  policies:  These codes and guidelines have been widely  distributed across the Group with related training  programmes underway. They have also been  integrated into standard internal audit  procedures and form part of an annual  management certification process. A multilingual  24/7 “hotline” facility is also in place as a secure  channel for employees to report ethical issues  that concern them or suspected violations of  these codes. The revised Code of Business Conduct was  approved by the Board in February 2012,  translated into 21 languages and distributed  across the Group. It sets out clear guidelines on  the application of the Group’s core values of  integrity, honesty and respect for the law,  requiring all employees to put business ethics at  the forefront of dealings with customers,  Compliance and Ethics – Anti-Fraud Policy; – Competition/Anti-Trust Compliance Code; – Shares and Securities Dealing Policy; – Anti-Bribery Policy (in line with the  requirements of the UK Bribery Act and the US  Foreign Corrupt Practices Act); – Ethical Procurement Code; – Compliance and Ethics Mergers, Acquisitions  and Joint Venture Due Diligence Programme. Attendance at Board and Board Committee meetings during the year ended 31 December 2012 Board Acquisitions Audit Finance Nomination Remuneration A  B   A  B  A  B   A   B  A  B  A  B E. Bärtschi 8 8 8 8 M. Carton 8 8 5 5 5 5 W. Egan 8 8 4 4 4 4 U-H. Felcht 8 7 4 2 1 1 5 5 N. Hartery 8 8 3 3 3 3 4 4 4 4 J.M. de Jong 8 7 9 8 J. Kennedy 8 8 4 4 4 4 M. Lee 8 8 5 5 5 5 1 1 K. McGowan* 2 2 2 2 2 2 1 1 H.A. McSharry** 8 8 8 8 A. Manifold 8 8 5 5 D. O’Connor 8 8 5 5 3 3 3 3 2 2 2 2 M. Towe 8 8 Column A - indicates the number of meetings held during the period the Director was a member of the Board and/or Committee.  Column B - indicates the number of meetings attended during the period the Director was a member of the Board and/or Committee.  * Retired May 2012  ** Appointed February 2012 CRH 51