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Financial Statements
UNITED STATES OPINION
To the General Meeting of Shareholders of TNT N.V.
Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm
We have completed an integrated audit of TNT N.V.’s 2006 consolidated financial statements and of its internal control over financial reporting as of 31 December 2006 and audits of its 2005 and 2004 consolidated financial statements in accordance with the standards of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States). Our opinions, based on our audits, are presented below.
Consolidated financial statements
In our opinion, the accompanying consolidated balance sheets and the related consolidated statements of income, consolidated cash flow statements and consolidated statements of changes in total equity, as set out on pages 105 to 171, present fairly, in all material respects, the financial position of TNT N.V. and its subsidiaries at 31 December 2006 and 2005, and the results of its operations and its cash flows for each of the three years in the period ended 31 December 2006 in conformity with International Financial Reporting Standards as adopted by the European Union. These consolidated financial statements are the responsibility of the Company’s management. Our responsibility is to express an opinion on these financial statements based on our audits. We conducted our audits of these statements in accordance with the standards of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States). Those standards require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements are free of material misstatement. An audit of financial statements includes examining, on a test basis, evidence supporting the amounts and disclosures in the financial statements, assessing the accounting principles used and significant estimates made by management, and evaluating the overall financial statement presentation. We believe that our audits provide a reasonable basis for our opinion.
International Financial Reporting Standards as adopted by the European Union vary in certain significant respects from accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America and as allowed by Item 18 to Form 20-F. Information relating to the nature and effect of such differences is presented in Note 35 to the consolidated financial statements.
Internal control over financial reporting
Also, in our opinion, management’s assessment, included in the accompanying Report of management on Internal Control over Financial Reporting, appearing on page 66 of the 2006 Annual Report/Form 20-F, that the Company maintained effective internal control over financial reporting as of 31 December 2006 based on criteria established in Internal Control - Integrated Framework issued by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission (COSO), is fairly stated, in all material respects, based on those criteria. Furthermore, in our opinion, the Company maintained, in all material respects, effective internal control over financial reporting as of 31 December 2006, based on criteria established in Internal Control - Integrated Framework issued by the COSO. The Company’s management is responsible for maintaining effective internal control over financial reporting and for its assessment of the effectiveness of internal control over financial reporting. Our responsibility is to express opinions on management’s assessment and on the effectiveness of the Company’s internal control over financial reporting based on our audit. We conducted our audit of internal control over financial reporting in accordance with the standards of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States). Those standards require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain reasonable assurance about whether effective internal control over financial reporting was maintained in all material respects. An audit of internal control over financial reporting includes obtaining an understanding of internal control over financial reporting, evaluating management’s assessment, testing and evaluating the design and operating effectiveness of internal control, and performing such other procedures as we consider necessary in the circumstances. We believe that our audit provides a reasonable basis for our opinions.
A company’s internal control over financial reporting is a process designed to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of financial reporting and the preparation of consolidated financial statements for external purposes in accordance with the applicable accounting standards. A company’s internal control over financial reporting includes those policies and procedures that (i) pertain to the maintenance of records that, in reasonable detail, accurately and fairly reflect the transactions and dispositions of the assets of the company; (ii) provide reasonable assurance that transactions are recorded as necessary to permit preparation of consolidated financial statements in accordance with applicable accounting standards, and that receipts and expenditures of the company are being made only in accordance with authorizations of management and directors of the company; and (iii) provide reasonable assurance regarding prevention or timely detection of unauthorized acquisition, use, or disposition of the company’s assets that could have a material effect on the consolidated financial statements.
Because of its inherent limitations, internal control over financial reporting may not prevent or detect misstatements. Also, projections of any evaluation of effectiveness to future periods are subject to the risk that controls may become inadequate because of changes in conditions, or that the degree of compliance with the policies or procedures may deteriorate.
Amsterdam, 26 February 2007
PricewaterhouseCoopers Accountants N.V.
drs. M. de Ridder RA
Note that the United States opinion set out above is included for the purposes of TNT N.V.’s Annual Report on Form 20-F for the year ended 31 December 2006 only and does not form part of TNT N.V. 2006 Annual Report.
