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Statutory Auditors’ special report on the international financial reporting standards (IFRS) transition statements
Statutory Auditors’ special Report on the
International Financial Reporting Standards
(IFRS) transition statements
for the year 2004
To the Shareholders,
In compliance with the terms of our appointment and
as auditors of Compagnie Générale des Etablissements Michelin,
we have audited the accompanying reconciliation statements,
hereafter “IFRS transition statements”, presenting the impact
of the transition to IFRS rules as adopted by the European Union
on the consolidated net equity and results of the Company
as at December 31, 2004.
The IFRS transition statements are the responsibility of the
Managing Partners and have been prepared as part of the conversion
to International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS)
adopted by the European Union for the preparation of 2005
consolidated financial statements based on the consolidated
financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2004,
prepared in accordance with the accounting rules and principles
generally accepted in France (the “consolidated financial statements”).
We have audited the consolidated financial statements
in accordance with the professional standards applicable in
France and expressed an unqualified opinion thereon. Our
responsibility is to express an opinion on the IFRS transition statements
based on our audit.
We conducted our audit in accordance with the professional
standards applied in France. Those standards require that we plan
and perform the audit to obtain reasonable assurance about
whether the IFRS transition statements are free of material misstatement.
An audit includes examining, on a test basis, evidence
supporting the amounts and disclosures in the transition state-
Paris, March 14, 2005
ments. An audit also includes assessing the accounting principles
used and significant estimates made by management, as well as
evaluating the overall financial statement presentation. We believe
that our audit provides a reasonable basis for our opinion.
In our opinion, the IFRS transition statements have been prepared,
in all material respects, in accordance with the basis set out in
the notes, which describe how IFRS 1 and the other IFRSs
adopted by the European Union have been applied, including the
assumptions management has made about the standards and
interpretations expected to be effective, and the policies
expected to be adopted, when management prepares its first
complete set of consolidated financial statements for 2005 in
accordance with IFRS adopted by the European Union.
Without qualifying our opinion, we draw attention to the last
paragraph of Note 2.2 that explains why the information
presented in the accompanying IFRS transition statements may
differ from the comparative information presented in the final
IFRS consolidated financial statements for 2005.
Moreover, as part of the conversion to International Financial
Reporting Standards adopted by the European Union for the
preparation of consolidated financial statements for 2005, the
IFRS transition statements do not constitute consolidated financial
statements prepared in accordance with IFRS rules as adopted by
the European Union that would enable to provide on such basis
a true and fair view of the assets and liabilities, financial position
and results of operations of the consolidated group.
PricewaterhouseCoopers Audit Corevise
Dominique PAUL Stéphane MARIE
The Statutory Auditors
Translated from the original French language report
104•105