External Auditors
The external auditors are appointed by the General Meeting on the recommendation of the Supervisory Board, which receives advice on this matter from both the audit committee and the Management Board. The remuneration of the external auditors and their terms of engagement to provide non-audit services are proposed by the audit committee and approved by the Supervisory Board after it has consulted the Management Board. The external auditors report the findings of their audit of the financial statements simultaneously to the Management Board and the Supervisory Board. The external auditors can be questioned by the General Meeting regarding their auditors’ report on the fairness of the financial statements. The external auditors, therefore, are entitled to attend and address the General Meeting. The contents of the financial statements are primarily the responsibility of the Management Board. In 2009 the Management Board and the audit committee conducted a thorough assessment of the functioning of the external auditor. On the recommendation of the Supervisory Board and subject to the approval of the General Meeting on 23 April 2010, KPMG Accountants N.V. (KPMG) will be reappointed to carry out the audit of the 2010 financial statements.
Source: Annual Report 2009, Chapter Corporate governance, page 79 (PDF, 66 kB)
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