Food Lion 2006 Annual Report Download - page 104

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ON THE CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2006
PRESENTED TO THE ORDINARY GENERAL MEETING OF
DELHAIZE BROTHERS AND Co “THE LION”
(DELHAIZE GROUP) SA
To the Shareholders
As required by law and the company’s articles of association, we are pleased to
report to you on the audit assignment which you have entrusted to us. This report
includes our opinion on the consolidated financial statements together with the
required additional comments and information.
Unqualified audit opinion on the consolidated financial statements
We have audited the accompanying consolidated financial statements of Delhaize
Group SA (“the company”) and its subsidiaries (jointly “the group”), prepared in
accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards as adopted by the
European Union and with the legal and regulatory requirements applicable in
Belgium. Those consolidated financial statements comprise the consolidated
balance sheet as at 31 December 2006, the consolidated income statement, the
consolidated statement of recognized income and expense and the consolidated
statement of cash flows for the year then ended, as well as the summary of
significant accounting policies and other explanatory notes. The consolidated
balance sheet shows total assets of EUR 9,295.4 million and a consolidated profit
(group share) for the year then ended of EUR 351.9 million.
The board of directors of the company is responsible for the preparation of the
consolidated financial statements. This responsibility includes among other
things: designing, implementing and maintaining internal control relevant to the
preparation and fair presentation of consolidated financial statements that are
free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error, selecting and
applying appropriate accounting policies, and making accounting estimates that
are reasonable in the circumstances.
Our responsibility is to express an opinion on these consolidated financial
statements based on our audit. We conducted our audit in accordance with
legal requirements and auditing standards applicable in Belgium, as issued by
the “Institut des Reviseurs d’Entreprises/Instituut der Bedrijfsrevisoren”. Those
standards require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain reasonable
assurance whether the consolidated financial statements are free from material
misstatement.
In accordance with these standards, we have performed procedures to obtain
audit evidence about the amounts and disclosures in the consolidated financial
statements. The procedures selected depend on our judgment, including the
assessment of the risks of material misstatement of the consolidated financial
statements, whether due to fraud or error. In making those risk assessments,
we have considered internal control relevant to the group’s preparation and fair
presentation of the consolidated financial statements in order to design audit
procedures that are appropriate in the circumstances but not for the purpose of
expressing an opinion on the effectiveness of the group’s internal control. We
have assessed the basis of the accounting policies used, the reasonableness of
accounting estimates made by the company and the presentation of the consoli-
dated financial statements, taken as a whole. Finally, the board of directors and
responsible officers of the company have replied to all our requests for explana-
tions and information. We believe that the audit evidence we have obtained
provides a reasonable basis for our opinion.
In our opinion, the consolidated financial statements give a true and fair view of
the group’s financial position as of 31 December 2006, and of its results and its
cash flows for the year then ended, in accordance with International Financial
Reporting Standards as adopted by the EU and with the legal and regulatory
requirements applicable in Belgium.
Additional comments and information
The preparation and the assessment of the information that should be included in
the directors’ report on the consolidated financial statements are the responsibil-
ity of the board of directors.
Our responsibility is to include in our report the following additional comments
and information which does not change the scope of our audit opinion on the
consolidated financial statements:
• The directors’ report on the consolidated financial statements includes the
information required by law and is in agreement with the consolidated
financial statements. However, we are unable to express an opinion on the
description of the principal risks and uncertainties confronting the group, or
on the status, future evolution, or significant influence of certain factors on
its future development. We can, nevertheless, confirm that the information
given is not in obvious contradiction with any information obtained in the
context of our appointment.
• As mentioned in note 3 to the financial statements, “Change in Accounting
Policy”, the company has changed its accounting policy with respect to
the recognition of actuarial gains and losses relating to post-employment
defined benefit plans following the issuance of IAS19 Employee Benefits
- Amendment - Actuarial Gains and Losses, Group Plans and Disclosures
which provides for an option to recognize actuarial gains and losses in full
through equity in the statement of recognized income and expense (SoRIE) in
the period in which they occur. This change in accounting policy was applied
retrospectively. The effect on the consolidated balance sheets and income
statements is disclosed in note 3 to the financial statements ‘Change in
Accounting Policy’.
March 14, 2007
The Statutory Auditor
DELOITTE Bedrijfsrevisoren / Reviseurs d’Entreprises
BV o.v.v.e. CVBA / SC s.f.d. SCRL
Represented by Philip Maeyaert
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