Auditors’ report in accordance with Article 156 of Law Decree no. 58 dated February 24, 1998
To the Shareholders of Benetton Group S.p.A.
- We have audited the consolidated financial statements, which comprise the balance
sheet, income statement, cash flow statement, statement of changes in shareholders’
equity and the related notes of Benetton Group S.p.A. and its subsidiaries (together
“Gruppo Benetton”) as of December 31, 2005. These consolidated financial statements
are the responsibility of the Directors of Benetton Group S.p.A. Our responsibility is to
express an opinion on these consolidated financial statements based on our audit. The
aforementioned consolidated financial statements have been prepared for the first time
in accordance with the International Financial Reporting Standards (“IFRS”) as adopted
by the European Union.
- We conducted our audit in accordance with the auditing standards and criteria
recommended by CONSOB. In accordance with those standards and criteria, the audit
has been planned and performed to obtain the necessary assurance about whether
the consolidated financial statements are free of material misstatement and, taken
as a whole, are reliable. An audit includes examining, on a sample basis, evidence
supporting the amounts and disclosures in the financial statements, as well as assessing
the appropriateness of the accounting principles used and the reasonableness of the
estimates made by the Directors. We believe that our audit provides a reasonable basis
for our opinion.
The consolidated financial statements present the prior year corresponding figures prepared in accordance with the same accounting principles. Furthermore, the note ”Transition to IFRS” explains the effects of the transition to IFRS as adopted by the European Union and includes the information related to the Reconciliation Schedules required by IFRS 1, which have been approved and published as a section of the semiannual reports as at June 30, 2005, that we have audited, reference is made to our report dated September 22, 2005.
- In our opinion, the consolidated financial statements of Benetton Group S.p.A. as of December 31, 2005 comply with IFRS as adopted by the European Union; accordingly, they give a true and fair view of the financial position, the results of operations, the changes in shareholders’ equity and cash flows of Benetton Group S.p.A. for the year then ended.
PricewaterhouseCoopers S.p.A.
Signed by Roberto Adami (Partner)
(This report has been translated from the original which was issued in accordance with Italian legislation. References in this report to the Financial Statement refer to the Financial Statement in original Italian and not to their translation)