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Statutory Auditors’ Report
on the Consolidated Financial Statements
Year ended 31 December, 2004
To the Shareholders,
In compliance with the assignment entrusted to us by the
Shareholders, we have audited the accompanying consolidated
financial statements of Compagnie Générale des Etablissements
Michelin for the year ended 31 December, 2004.
The consolidated financial statements have been approved by
the Managing Partners. Our role is to express an opinion on these
financial statements based on our audit.
Opinion on the consolidated financial statements
We conducted our audit in accordance with professional
standards applicable in France. Those standards require that
we plan and perform the audit to obtain reasonable assurance
about whether the consolidated financial statements are free
of material misstatement. An audit includes examining,
on a test basis, evidence supporting the amounts and disclosures
in the financial statements. An audit also includes assessing
the accounting principles used and significant estimates made
by the management, as well as evaluating the overall financial
statements presentation. We believe that our audit provides
a reasonable basis for our opinion.
In our opinion, the consolidated financial statements give a true
and fair view of the assets, liabilities, financial position and results
of the consolidated group of companies in accordance with the
accounting rules and principles applicable in France.
Justification of our assessments
In accordance with the requirements of article L.225-235 of the
Commercial Code relating to the justification of our assessments,
we bring to your attention the following matters:
• The note 20 to the accounts mentions, among other non
recurring expenses, an amount of EUR 108 million with respect
to a probable loss for the Group on the contemplated transfer
of Michelin Wheels operations.
Paris, 14 March, 2005
Statutory Auditors’ Report
In relation to our assessment of the accounting assumptions,
we have examined the offer received at the end of year 2004
and have relied for the assessment of the probable loss on the
analysis and information provided to us by the management.
• The note 13 to the accounts “post retirement and other
employee benefits obligations” presents in paragraph 13.2 the
actuarial assumptions used by the Group.
With respect to our assessment of the post-retirement and other
employee benefit obligations, we have verified in particular the
appropriateness of the assumptions used by the Group in relation
with other entities of the sector, as well as the overall
quality of the reporting process implemented within the Group
entities.
• The note 12 to the accounts “Income taxes” presents deferred
tax assets amounting to €848 million.
We have verified that the recognition of tax assets complies with
the accounting rules and principles described in note m) to the
accounts and that no deferred tax assets are recognized for
entities that would not yet have demonstrated their capacity
to offset tax losses against profits.
The assessments were made in the context of our audit of the
consolidated financial statements, taken as a whole, and therefore
contributed to the formation of the unqualified opinion
expressed in the first part of this report.
Specific verification
In accordance with professional standards applicable in France,
we have also verified the information given in the Group report
of the Managing Partners. We have no matters to report
regarding its fair presentation and conformity with the
consolidated financial statements.
PricewaterhouseCoopers Audit Corevise
Dominique PAUL Stéphane MARIE
Statutory Auditors
Members of the Compagnie Régionale de Paris
Translated from the original French language report
94•95