The Board of Directors has established three specialized Committees: the Audit Committee, the Finance Committee and the Compensation & Governance Committee.
To ensure a well-balanced governance, the Board's Terms of Reference go beyond the requirements of French law and specifically provide that independent directors have a major role in all Board Committees, as follows:
- each of the three Committees is chaired by an independent director;
- all members of the Audit Committee and the Compensation & Governance Committees are independent directors;
- none of AXA's corporate officers may be members of the Committees.
Each Committee issues opinions, proposals or recommendations to the Board of Directors on matters within the scope of its responsibilities with each Committee Chairman reporting to the Board at the following Board meeting. However, under French law, Board Committees do not have any formal decision making power and are advisory only.
The Committees may request external consulting expertise if necessary. They may also invite external participants to attend their meetings. Each Committee is composed of members with expertise in the relevant areas which is reviewed regularly by the Board of Directors.