Information policy

UBS's financial disclosure policies aim at achieving a fair market value for UBS shares through open, transparent and consistent communication with investors and financial markets.

Financial disclosure principles

Based on discussions with analysts and investors, UBS believes that the market rewards companies that provide clear, consistent and informative disclosure about their business. Therefore, UBS aims to communicate its strategy and results in a manner that allows shareholders and investors to gain a full and accurate understanding of how the company works, what its growth prospects are and what risks the strategy and results might entail.

To continue to achieve these goals, UBS applies the following principles in its financial reporting and disclosure:

transparency in disclosure is designed to enhance understanding of the economic drivers and detailed results of the business, building trust and credibility;
consistency in disclosure within each reporting period and between reporting periods;
simplicity in disclosure allows readers to gain the appropriate level of understanding of the firm’s businesses’ performance;
relevance in disclosure avoids information overload by focusing on what is relevant to UBS’s stakeholders, or required by regulation or statute; and
best practice in line with industry norms, leading the way to improved standards where possible.

Financial reporting policies

UBS reports its results after the end of every quarter, including a breakdown of results by business groups and business units and extensive disclosures relating to credit and market risk. UBS’s financial statements are prepared according to International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS). A detailed explanation of the basis of UBS’s accounting is given in Note 1 in Financial Statements 2007. An explanation of the critical accounting policies applied in the preparation of UBS’s financial statements is also provided in a specific section in Financial Statements 2007.

UBS is committed to maintaining the transparency of its reported results and to ensuring that analysts and investors can make meaningful comparisons with previous periods. If there is a major reorganization of its business units, or if changes to accounting standards or interpretations lead to a material change in the Group’s reported results, UBS’s results are restated for previous periods to show how they would have been reported according to the new basis and provide clear explanations of all changes.

US regulatory disclosure requirements
As a Swiss company listed on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), UBS complies with the disclosure requirements of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the NYSE for foreign private issuers. These include the requirement to make certain filings with the SEC. As a foreign private issuer, some of the SEC’s regulations and requirements which apply to domestic issuers are not applicable to UBS. UBS’s regular quarterly reports are provided to the SEC under cover of Form 6-K, and UBS files an annual report on Form 20-F.

These reports, as well as materials sent to shareholders in connection with annual and special shareholder meetings, are all available at www.ubs.com/investors. As of the end of the period covered by this annual report, an evaluation was carried out under the supervision of management, including the Group Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and Group Chief Financial Officer (CFO), of the effectiveness of UBS’s disclosure controls and procedures (as defined in Rule 13a–15e) under the US Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Based upon that evaluation, the Group CEO and Group CFO concluded that these disclosure controls and procedures were effective as of the end of the period covered by this annual report. No significant changes were made in UBS’s internal controls or in other factors that could significantly affect these controls subsequent to the date of their evaluation.

In accordance with Section 404 of the US Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, the management of UBS is responsible for establishing and maintaining adequate internal control over financial reporting. Financial Statements 2007, one of the four reports that comprise UBS’s annual report, contains management’s assessment (as of the time of publication of the annual report) of the effectiveness of internal control over financial reporting and the external auditors’ report on such assessment.