Independent Auditor's Assurance Report
Opinion
Contents Foreword Management report Corporate governance Consolidated Financial Statements Company Financial Statements Pillar 3
To: The General Members Council and Supervisory Board of Coöperatieve Rabobank U.A.
Scope
We have performed an assurance engagement to report on
the effectiveness of internal control over the consolidated
financial reporting of Coöperatieve Rabobank U.A. (hereafter
'Rabobank') as at 31 December 2016, based on criteria
established in 'Internal Control - Integrated Framework' issued
by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway
Commission (2013 framework) ('the COSO criteria').
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 in accordance with the
applicable financial reporting framework. A company's internal
control over financial reporting includes those policies and
procedures that:
1. pertain to the maintenance of records that, in reasonable
detail, accurately and fairly reflect the transactions and
dispositions of the assets of the company;
2. provide reasonable assurance that transactions are recorded
as necessary to permit preparation of consolidated financial
statements in accordance with International Financial
Reporting Standards as adopted in the European Union and
Part 9 of Book 2 of the Dutch Civil Code, and that receipts
and expenditures of the company are being made only
in accordance with authorisations of management of the
company; and
3. provide reasonable assurance regarding prevention or timely
detection of unauthorised acquisition, use, or disposition of
the company's assets that could have a material effect on the
consolidated financial statements.
Executive Board's responsibility
The Executive Board of Rabobank is responsible for maintaining
effective internal control over financial reporting and for its
assessment of the effectiveness of internal control over financial
reporting, included in the accompanying executive board's
report on internal control over financial reporting.
The statement of the Executive Board regarding its assessment
of the effectiveness of internal over financial reporting is
included in note 52 of the consolidated financial statements.
Auditor's responsibility
Our procedures were designed to enable us to express
a reasonable assurance opinion on the effectiveness of the
Rabobank's internal control over consolidated financial
reporting as at 31 December 2016. We conducted our assurance
engagement in accordance with Dutch Law, including the
Dutch Standard 3000 'Assurance-engagements other than
audits or reviews of historical financial information' based on
the COSO criteria. This requires that we comply with ethical
requirements and plan and perform the assurance engagement
to obtain reasonable assurance about whether effective
internal control over financial reporting was maintained in
all material respects. Our assurance engagement included
obtaining an understanding of internal control over financial
reporting, assessing the risk that a material weakness exists, and
testing and evaluating the design and operating effectiveness
of internal control based on the assessed risk and other
procedures as we considered necessary in the circumstances.
We believe that the evidence we have obtained is sufficient and
appropriate to provide a basis for our opinion.
Inherent Limitations
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.
Our opinion is provided based on the matters as explained in
this assurance report.
In our opinion, Rabobank maintained, in all material respects,
effective internal control over the consolidated financial
reporting as of 31 December 2016, based on the COSO criteria.
Amsterdam, 8 March 2017
PricewaterhouseCoopers Accountants N.V.
Original has been signed by PJ. van Mierlo RA
249 Independent Auditor's Assurance Report