Messages from Outside Audit & Supervisory Board Members

The company’s governance and internal controls continue to meet the standards of a listed company, and a structure has been established that offers peace of mind to shareholders and investors. In particular, the company is working diligently to advance and integrate areas such as IT controls and risk management to apply them on a global level, and is closely monitoring its progress.
As attention turns to the status of key business activities, such good governance is the prerequisite for the various concrete policies that the company has launched to achieve OVOL Medium-term Business Plan 2026. We began our business expansion with acquisitions in Germany and France, and this will likely continue with second and third rounds of new business investments going forward.
As an outside Audit & Supervisory Board member, I will focus on decision-making processes for new investments and monitor the results, while also ensuring that governance is established and operated according to the standards expected by shareholders and investors.
The company has made various acquisitions in the past, and while that is not to say that they have always been successful, the required management structures have been built properly at each company, and overall, the businesses are progressing smoothly. The long history of the company is one of its strengths, which has enabled it to conduct management with its feet firmly on the ground while nurturing long-term relationships with stakeholders. This has built up a wealth of intangible assets that cannot be appreciated just by looking at earnings reports. Although it may not be flashy or result in explosive growth or change, the company has a track record of steadily achieving its targets through necessary self-transformation responding to changes in paper demand. I will strive to be a contributor to governance, which forms the foundation of the group as it expands both within and outside Japan.

Two years have passed since I was appointed as an outside Audit & Supervisory Board member. During this time, the company has continued to surprise me and deepen my respect for it through its involvement in a wide range of business areas, and its bold stance in aiming for growth even as the paper industry overall is shrinking. We are currently in a period of transition for the company, as business operations and the organizational structure expand, and I believe continued focus is required on whether the company can establish management structures that can keep pace with these changes.
My area of expertise is the law, and I take care to always make objective and neutral judgments from a legal viewpoint. My role as an outside Audit & Supervisory Board member is to point out any issues without hesitation and without being influenced by my own personal values. From this perspective, my assessment is that the corporate governance of the company is functioning appropriately overall, and even when issues surface, the organization responds promptly and without bias. Nevertheless, as global expansion is progressing rapidly, supervisory structures must also be developed with a commensurate speed. In particular, a challenge going forward will be to build a structure that allows for flexible responses through the sharing of information with management divisions as soon as a risk occurs.
Although business expansion and profit growth are essential for the development of the company, doing so in a proper manner that is compliant with the law is also a prerequisite. More than ever, sound business practices can be a source of sustainable growth and corporate value. In the future, I will conduct my auditing with a level head and from an independent perspective to help make corporate management even more trustworthy.

Over my two years as an outside Audit & Supervisory Board member, I have not only focused on numerical evidence but also tried to gain an understanding of conditions on the ground by placing myself at contact points between worksites and management. Based on my expertise in financial and tax affairs, I have worked hard to establish effective governance by paying attention to the integrity and proper disclosure of information that forms the foundation of management decisions.
Although it may be relatively unusual for an outside Audit & Supervisory Board member to conduct onsite audits, the company proactively encourages them at group companies. I have visited several worksites where I was able to discuss issues directly with the people in charge, and this helped me to understand the actual state of internal controls and accounting processes. At small- to medium-sized subsidiaries in Japan, there is room for improvement in establishing systems and risk management structures, and I believe that by confirming conditions onsite, outside Audit & Supervisory Board members can play an important role in helping to raise control capabilities across the entire group.
It’s also worth mentioning that sustainability initiatives concerning the theme of human capital management are being implemented, and managers take the lead in driving forward these policies in a way that is aligned with management strategies. I also feel that the increased presence of female executives and direct dialogue within the organization are being leveraged for decisionmaking, and this will become a major strength supporting future growth.
As sustainable management becomes the foundation for creating corporate value, Audit & Supervisory Board members will need to fulfill their roles from ever more advanced and diverse perspectives. Going forward, we will continue to support sound corporate governance and contribute to collaboration between the company and a sustainable society.