Mercedes 1998 Annual Report Download - page 70

Download and view the complete annual report

Please find page 70 of the 1998 Mercedes annual report below. You can navigate through the pages in the report by either clicking on the pages listed below, or by using the keyword search tool below to find specific information within the annual report.

Page out of 126

  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • 5
  • 6
  • 7
  • 8
  • 9
  • 10
  • 11
  • 12
  • 13
  • 14
  • 15
  • 16
  • 17
  • 18
  • 19
  • 20
  • 21
  • 22
  • 23
  • 24
  • 25
  • 26
  • 27
  • 28
  • 29
  • 30
  • 31
  • 32
  • 33
  • 34
  • 35
  • 36
  • 37
  • 38
  • 39
  • 40
  • 41
  • 42
  • 43
  • 44
  • 45
  • 46
  • 47
  • 48
  • 49
  • 50
  • 51
  • 52
  • 53
  • 54
  • 55
  • 56
  • 57
  • 58
  • 59
  • 60
  • 61
  • 62
  • 63
  • 64
  • 65
  • 66
  • 67
  • 68
  • 69
  • 70
  • 71
  • 72
  • 73
  • 74
  • 75
  • 76
  • 77
  • 78
  • 79
  • 80
  • 81
  • 82
  • 83
  • 84
  • 85
  • 86
  • 87
  • 88
  • 89
  • 90
  • 91
  • 92
  • 93
  • 94
  • 95
  • 96
  • 97
  • 98
  • 99
  • 100
  • 101
  • 102
  • 103
  • 104
  • 105
  • 106
  • 107
  • 108
  • 109
  • 110
  • 111
  • 112
  • 113
  • 114
  • 115
  • 116
  • 117
  • 118
  • 119
  • 120
  • 121
  • 122
  • 123
  • 124
  • 125
  • 126

FINANCIAL STATEMENT
66
The accompanying consolidated financial statements
(consolidated balance sheets as of December 31, 1998 and 1997,
consolidated statements of income, cash flows and changes in
stockholders’ equity for each of the years in the three-year
period ended December 31, 1998) were prepared in accordance
with the United States Generally Accepted Accounting
Principles.
In order to comply with § 292 a HGB (German Commercial
Code), the consolidated financial statements were prepared in
Deutsche Mark and supplemented with a consolidated business
review report and further explanations. Therefore, the
consolidated financial statements, which have to be filed with
the commercial register and published in the Federal Gazette,
comply with the Fourth and Seventh Directive of the European
Community. To interpret these directives we relied on the
statement of the Committee for Accounting Directives, which
was agreed upon by the European Commission and the
German Federal Department of Justice.
With the introduction of the euro effective January 1, 1999 we
have converted our internal and external reporting to euro and,
therefore, restated the consolidated financial statements and
the consolidated business review report including the figures
of fiscal 1997 to euro using the exchange rate as of January 1,
1999 (see Note 1 to the consolidated financial statements). The
Form 20-F will also be presented in euro with the consent of
the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
The consolidated financial statements and the consolidated
business review report as of December 31, 1998 prepared in
accordance with § 292 a HGB (German Commercial Code) and
filed with the commercial register in Stuttgart under the
No. HRB 19 360 will be provided to shareholders upon request.
PRELIMINARY NOTE
STATEMENT OF THE BOARD
OF MANAGEMENT
The Board of Management of DaimlerChrysler AG is
responsible for preparing the accompanying consolidated
financial statements.
We have installed effective internal controlling and monitoring
systems to guarantee compliance with the accounting
principles and the adequacy of reporting. They include the use
of uniform guidelines group-wide, the use of reliable software,
the selection and training of qualified personnel, and ongoing
reviews by our internal auditing department.
As part of the merger, the existing internal control systems will
be combined into a risk management system that meets the
requirements of the German Business Monitoring and
Transparency Act (KonTraG). This will enable the Board of
Management to identify potential risks at an early stage and
to initiate appropriate countermeasures.
KPMG Deutsche Treuhand-Gesellschaft Aktiengesellschaft
Wirtschaftsprüfungsgesellschaft has audited the consolidated
financial statements in accordance with generally accepted
auditing standards in Germany and the United States and has
issued the following auditors’ report.
Together with the independent auditors, the Supervisory
Board’s Financial Audit Committee examined the consolidated
financial statements including the business review and the
auditors’ report in depth. The entire Supervisory Board
subsequently reviewed the documentation related to the
financial statements.
Jürgen E. SchremppRobert J. Eaton Manfred Gentz