Auditor's report – Unilever PLC
Independent auditors’ report to the shareholders of Unilever PLC on the parent company accounts
We have audited the parent company accounts of Unilever PLC for the year ended 31 December 2007 which comprise the balance sheet and the related notes. These parent company accounts have been prepared under the accounting policies set out therein. We have also audited the information in the Report of the Remuneration Committee that is described as having been audited.
We have reported separately on the consolidated accounts of the Unilever Group for the year ended 31 December 2007.
Respective responsibilities of Directors and auditors
The Directors' responsibilities for preparing the parent company accounts in accordance with applicable United Kingdom law and United Kingdom accounting standards (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice) are set out in the Statement of Directors' Responsibilities. The Directors are also responsible for preparing the Annual Report, including the Report of the Remuneration Committee.
Our responsibility is to audit the parent company accounts and the part of the Report of the Remuneration Committee to be audited in accordance with relevant legal and regulatory requirements and International Standards on Auditing (UK and Ireland). This report, including the opinion, has been prepared for and only for the shareholders of Unilever PLC as a body in accordance with Section 235 of the Companies Act 1985 and for no other purpose. We do not, in giving this opinion, accept or assume responsibility for any other purpose or to any other person to whom this report is shown or into whose hands it may come save where expressly agreed by our prior consent in writing.
We report to you our opinion as to whether the parent company accounts give a true and fair view and whether the parent company accounts and the part of the Report of the Remuneration Committee to be audited have been properly prepared in accordance with the Companies Act 1985. We also report to you whether in our opinion the information given in the Report of the Directors is consistent with the parent company accounts.
In addition we report to you if, in our opinion, the Company has not kept proper accounting records, if we have not received all the information and explanations we require for our audit, or if information specified by law regarding directors' remuneration and other transactions is not disclosed.
We read the other information contained in the Annual Report and consider whether it is consistent with the audited parent company accounts. The other information comprises only Report of the Directors and the Shareholder information. We consider the implications for our report if we become aware of any apparent misstatements or material inconsistencies with the parent company accounts. Our responsibilities do not extend to any other information.
Basis of audit opinion
We conducted our audit in accordance with International Standards on Auditing (UK and Ireland) issued by the Auditing Practices Board. An audit includes examination, on a test basis, of evidence relevant to the amounts and disclosures in the parent company accounts and the part of the Report of the Remuneration Committee to be audited. It also includes an assessment of the significant estimates and judgements made by the Directors in the preparation of the parent company accounts, and of whether the accounting policies are appropriate to the company's circumstances, consistently applied and adequately disclosed.
We planned and performed our audit so as to obtain all the information and explanations which we considered necessary in order to provide us with sufficient evidence to give reasonable assurance that the parent company accounts and the part of the Report of the Remuneration Committee to be audited are free from material misstatement, whether caused by fraud or other irregularity or error. In forming our opinion we also evaluated the overall adequacy of the presentation of information in the parent company accounts and the part of the Report of the Remuneration Committee to be audited.
Opinion
In our opinion:
- • the parent company accounts give a true and fair view, in accordance with United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice, of the state of the company's affairs as at 31 December 2007;
- • the parent company accounts and the part of the Report of the Remuneration Committee to be audited have been properly prepared in accordance with the Companies Act 1985; and
- • the information given in the Report of the Directors is consistent with the parent company accounts.
10 March 2008
PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP
Chartered Accountants and Registered Auditors
London, United Kingdom
