Deutsche Telekom AG - The 2009 financial year

Corporate governance. Sound, systematic corporate governance is particularly important for an international group such as Deutsche Telekom with its numerous subsidiaries, associates and joint ventures. The Company adheres to national provisions such as the recommendations of the Government Commission for a German Corporate Governance Code as well as international standards applicable to listings on international stock exchanges such as the New York Stock Exchange. The regulations of the United States, including the Sarbanes- Oxley Act which also applies to Deutsche Telekom, are of particular relevance in this context. The Supervisory Board and the Board of Manage- ment are convinced that sound corporate governance, taking company and industry-specific issues into account, is an important building block for the future success of Deutsche Telekom. Accordingly, responsibility for compliance with the principles of sound corporate governance is vested in senior management. In the 2009 financial year, the Board of Management and Supervisory Board once again carefully examined the corporate governance of Deutsche Telekom AG and the Deutsche Telekom Group as well as the contents of the Corporate Governance Code. During the reporting period just ended, Deutsche Telekom AG once again fulfilled all of the Code’s recommen- dations. The Supervisory Board and Board of Management of Deutsche Telekom AG therefore released unqualified declarations of conformity with the German Corporate Governance Code on August 28, 2009 and Janu- ary 5, 2010. Declarations of conformity pursuant to §161 of the German Stock Corporation Act (Aktiengesetz – AktG) Declaration dated August 28, 2009: I. The Supervisory Board and Board of Management of Deutsche Telekom AG hereby declare that, in the period since submission of the most recent declaration of conformity pursuant to §161 AktG on December 4, 2008, Deutsche Telekom AG has complied with the recommendations of the Government Commission for a German Cor- porate Governance Code announced by the Federal Ministry of Justice on August 8, 2008 in the official section of the electronic Federal Gazette (elektronischer Bundesanzeiger), without exception. II. The Supervisory Board and Board of Management of Deutsche Telekom AG hereby declare further that Deutsche Telekom AG com- plies with the recommendations of the Government Commission for a German Corporate Governance Code, published by the Federal Ministry of Justice in the official section of the electronic Federal Gazette (elektronischer Bundesanzeiger) on August 5, 2009, without exception. Declaration dated January 5, 2010: I. The Supervisory Board and Board of Management of Deutsche Telekom AG hereby declare that, in the period since submission of the most recent declaration of conformity pursuant to §161 AktG on August 28, 2009, Deutsche Telekom AG has complied with the recom- mendations of the Government Commission for a German Corporate Governance Code announced by the Federal Ministry of Justice on August 5, 2009 in the official section of the electronic Federal Gazette (Bundesanzeiger), without exception. II. The Supervisory Board and Board of Management of Deutsche Telekom AG hereby declare further that Deutsche Telekom AG complies with the recommendations of the Government Commission for a German Corporate Governance Code, published by the Federal Ministry of Justice in the official section of the electronic Federal Gazette (Bundesanzeiger) on August 5, 2009, without exception. These declarations of conformity can be found on the Deutsche Telekom website (www.telekom.com) via the following path: English/ Investor Relations/Corporate Governance/Declaration of Conformity. This website also provides access to the superseded declarations of conformity from previous years. Corporate governance practices beyond statutory requirements. Deutsche Telekom has a Group-wide compliance organization that is continuously being expanded ( also published in the 2009 Corporate Responsibility Report under www.cr-report.telekom.de). The first element to be introduced was a Compliance Committee that supports the Board of Management in setting up and developing the framework for an effective compliance management system. The members of the Compliance Committee are experienced managers in the areas of compliance, legal affairs, data privacy, corporate auditing, corporate security, and human resources. The Chief Compliance Officer, appointed by the Board of Management, is the chairman of the Compliance Committee. He reports to the Group Board of Management and directly to the Audit Committee and the Supervisory Board. A compliance officer has been appointed in each of the strategic business areas. There are compliance officers/contacts in the business units depending on their size and the risk exposure. The significance of compliance was underlined once again by the pooling of compliance activities in the Data Privacy, Legal Affairs and Compliance Board of Management department. 39To our shareholders Supervisory Board’s report Corporate governance