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Ericsson Global
Corporate Governance 

Corporate governance is a generic term describing the ways in which rights and responsibilities are distributed among the various corporate bodies according to the rules, processes or laws they are subject to. In practice, corporate governance defines the decision-making systems and structure through which owners directly or indirectly control a company.

 

Our Corporate Governance structure
OUR COMMITMENT TO CORPORATE governance

Ericsson is committed to high standards of corporate governance and strives to ensure that our strong ethos of corporate governance permeates the entire organization and the way we conduct business.

We have policies and directives that guide all employees in how they should work to meet legal and regulatory requirements and the ethical standards that we set for ourselves. The Company’s reputation for integrity and good corporate citizenship stems from its core values of professionalism, respect and perseverance.

While these ideals and values are embedded in our ways of working, we know that controls and procedures are integral to maintaining our high standards and we are constantly seeking ways to make our corporate governance even more effective and reliable.

 

Ericsson's Core values
HIGH STANDARDS in business ethics

Our Code of Business Ethics sets out how we work to achieve and maintain our high standards.

 

This document has been translated into more than 20 languages to ensure that everyone who works for Ericsson understands our policies and directives and the importance of conducting all business activities in an ethical manner. We also arrange corporate governance training for executives so that they can reinforce the messages among ericsson’s widespread workforce. All employees must regularly review the Code of Business Ethics and acknowledge that they have understood its principles. Our Code of Business Ethics satisfies the applicable requirements of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 and NASDAQ.

 

Code of Business Ethics
Compliance with requirements

As a Swedish public limited-liability company, Ericsson is governed on the basis of its Articles of Association and the Swedish Companies Act. We also apply the listing requirements of NASDAQ OMX Stockholm and the Swedish Code of Corporate Governance. The Code is based on the “comply or explain” principle, which means a company may deviate from individual rules but must then explain why it has done so.

We also apply the listing requirements of NASDAQ. We satisfy applicable NASDAQ corporate governance requirements, subject to certain exemptions principally reflecting mandatory Swedish legal requirements.

These exemptions are discussed in “NASDAQ Corporate Governance Exemptions” below. Moreover, we comply with applicable requirements of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, including the certification of our Annual Report on the SEC ’s (Securities and Exchange Commission’s) Form 20-F by the Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer. The Sarbanes-Oxley Act, commonly called SOX, is a United States federal law establishing, among other things, enhanced corporate governance standards.
SOX applies to Ericsson because we have securities quoted on NASDAQ.

Application of the Swedish Code of Corporate Governance

Ericsson has applied the Code since July 2005. To ensure compliance with the Code and to seek compliance with best-practice provisions wherever possible, we are constantly evaluating and adapting our policies and directives as well as our procedures and internal processes. Ericsson has never reported any deviations from the Code.

Related topics
SWEDISH CORPORATE GOVERNANCE