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Statutory auditor’s responsibilities for the audit
of the consolidated accounts
Our objectives are to obtain reasonable assurance
about whether the consolidated accounts as a
whole are free from material misstatement, whether
due to fraud or error, and to issue an auditor’s
report that includes our opinion. Reasonable
assurance is a high level of assurance, but is not a
guarantee that an audit conducted in accordance
with ISAs will always detect a material
misstatement when it exists. Misstatements can
arise from fraud or error and are considered
material if, individually or in the aggregate, they
could reasonably be expected to inuence the
economic decisions of users taken on the basis of
these consolidated accounts.
In performing our audit, we comply with the legal,
regulatory and normative framework applicable to
the audit of the consolidated accounts in Belgium.
A statutory audit does not provide any assurance as
to the Group’s future viability nor as to the
efciency or effectiveness of the board of directors’
current or future business management at Group
level. Our responsibilities in respect of the use of
the going concern basis of accounting by the board
of directors’ are described below.
As part of an audit in accordance with ISAs, we
exercise professional judgment and maintain
professional skepticism throughout the audit. We also:
• Identify and assess the risks of material
misstatement of the consolidated accounts,
whether due to fraud or error, design and
perform audit procedures responsive to those
risks, and obtain audit evidence that is sufcient
and appropriate to provide a basis for our
opinion. The risk of not detecting a material
misstatement resulting from fraud is higher than
for one resulting from error, as fraud may
involve collusion, forgery, intentional omissions,
misrepresentations, or the override of internal
control;
• Obtain an understanding of internal control
relevant to the audit 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;
• Evaluate the appropriateness of accounting
policies used and the reasonableness of
accounting estimates and related disclosures
made by the board of directors;
• Conclude on the appropriateness of the board
of directors’ use of the going concern basis of
accounting and, based on the audit evidence
obtained, whether a material uncertainty exists
related to events or conditions that may cast
signicant doubt on the Group’s ability to
continue as a going concern. If we conclude
that a material uncertainty exists, we are
required to draw attention in our statutory
auditor’s report to the related disclosures in the
consolidated accounts or, if such disclosures are
inadequate, to modify our opinion. Our
conclusions are based on the audit evidence
obtained up to the date of our statutory
auditor’s report. However, future events or
conditions may cause the Group to cease to
continue as a going concern;
• Evaluate the overall presentation, structure and
content of the consolidated accounts, including
the disclosures, and whether the consolidated
accounts represent the underlying transactions
and events in a manner that achieves fair
presentation;
• Obtain sufcient and appropriate audit
evidence regarding the nancial information of
the entities or business activities within the
Group to express an opinion on the
consolidated nancial statements. We are
responsible for the direction, supervision and
performance of the Group audit. We remain
solely responsible for our audit opinion.
We communicate with the audit committee
regarding, among other matters, the planned scope
and timing of the audit and signicant audit
ndings, including any signicant deciencies in
internal control that we identify during our audit.
We also provide the audit committee with a
statement that we have complied with relevant
ethical requirements regarding independence, and
to communicate with them all relationships and
other matters that may reasonably be thought to
bear on our independence, and where applicable,
related safeguards.
From the matters communicated with the audit
committee, we determine those matters that were
of most signicance in the audit of the consolidated
accounts of the current period and are therefore the
key audit matters. We describe these matters in our
auditor’s report unless law or regulation precludes
public disclosure about the matter.
Other legal and regulatory
requirements
Responsibilities of the board of directors
The board of directors is responsible for the
preparation and the content of the directors’ report
on the consolidated accounts and the other
information included in the annual report on the
consolidated accounts.