ECS2XL has been using VGD for statutory audits for years. The family nature of the logistics group is fully in line with VGD’s personal approach. ‘We understand each other amazingly well,’ says CFO Sandrine Bostyn.
With sustainable solutions for transport and warehousing, the logistics group ECS2XL provides an integrated supply chain for food, toiletries and other so-called fast-moving consumer goods. The group transports standardised full containers to and from Great Britain, Ireland and mainland Europe. The goods are temporarily stored in the automatic warehouse in Zeebrugge, and routed as quickly as possible to their next destination in the EU or Great Britain.
For a large business such as ECS2XL, an annual statutory audit is mandatory. ‘We’ve been using VGD for this since 2010, when we were still known as ECS,’ says CFO Sandrine Bostyn. ‘In that long period, the team of auditor Nathalie Deprez has hardly changed. That’s a great advantage, as Nathalie and her employees now know our organisation like the back of their hand. As a result, we can go through the audit more quickly every year, and there is room for additional screening of one specific department.
‘After each audit we sit down with Nathalie and statutory auditor Peter Vandewalle – who signs off the audit report – to go through the points for attention. We then discuss together what adjustments to our business processes are advisable. The following year, Nathalie checks that we’ve actually taken action. We greatly appreciate this meticulous follow-up and critical attitude, because they only benefit our operations.’
Read more about the criteria for a mandatory statutory audit here
In 2017, ECS joined forces with another Belgian family business: 2XL. VGD provided the audit report that is legally required in the event of a merger. ‘It just so happens that 2XL is an old customer of Peter,’ says Sandrine. ‘So it was made obvious sense l to use VGD for that audit too.’
‘VGD’s high level of sectoral and specific expertise is invaluable to us. Nathalie and Peter almost always draw the right conclusions. We also understand each other amazingly well. The fact that VGD, like ECS2XL, is a business with a family character, probably largely explains why we’re on the same wavelength.’