Mercedes 2009 Annual Report Download - page 177

Consolidated Financial Statements | Responsibility Statement |Independent Auditors’ Report |173
Independent Auditors’ Report
We have audited the consolidated financial statements prepared
by the Daimler AG, Stuttgart, comprising statement of financial
position, statement of income (loss), statement of comprehensive
income (loss), statement of changes in equity, statement of cash
flows and notes to the consolidated financial statements together
with the report on the position of the Company and the Group
for the business year from January 1 to December 31, 2009. The
preparation of the consolidated financial statements and the
group management report in accordance with IFRSs as adopted
by the EU, and the additional requirements of German commer-
cial law pursuant to § 315a Abs. [paragraph] 1 HGB [Handelsge-
setzbuch “German Commercial Code”] are the responsibility
of the parent company’s management. Our responsibility is to
express an opinion on the consolidated financial statements
and on the group management report based on our audit. In addi-
tion, we have been instructed to express an opinion as to
whether the consolidated financial statements comply with IFRS
as promulgated by the International Accounting Standards
Board (IASB-IFRS).
We conducted our audit of the consolidated financial statements
in accordance with § 317 HGB and German generally accepted
standards for the audit of financial statements promulgated by the
Institut der Wirtschaftsprüfer (IDW) [Institute of Public Auditors
in Germany]. Those standards require that we plan and perform
the audit such that misstatements materially affecting the pre-
sentation of the net assets, financial position and results of oper-
ations in the consolidated financial statements in accordance
with the applicable financial reporting framework and in the group
management report are detected with reasonable assurance.
Knowledge of the business activities and the economic and legal
environment of the Group and expectations as to possible mis-
statements are taken into account in the determination of audit
procedures. The effectiveness of the accounting-related inter-
nal control system and the evidence supporting the disclosures
in the consolidated financial statements and the group man-
agement report are examined primarily on a test basis within the
framework of the audit. The audit includes assessing the annual
financial statements of those entities included in consolidation,
the determination of entities to be included in consolidation,
the accounting and consolidation principles used and significant
estimates made by management, as well as evaluating the over-
all presentation of the consolidated financial statements and the
group management report. We believe that our audit provides
a reasonable basis for our opinion.
Our audit has not led to any reservations.
In our opinion, based on the findings of our audit, the consolidated
financial statements comply with IFRSs as adopted by the EU,
the additional requirements of German commercial law pursuant
to § 315a Abs. 1 HGB and IASB-IFRS and give a true and fair
view of the net assets, financial position and results of operations
of the Group in accordance with these requirements. The group
management report is consistent with the consolidated financial
statements and as a whole provides a suitable view of the Group’s
position and suitably presents the opportunities and risks of
future development.
Stuttgart, March 1, 2010
KPMG AG
Wirtschaftsprüfungsgesellschaft
Prof. Dr. Nonnenmacher Meyer
Wirtschaftsprüfer Wirtschaftsprüfer