To: the shareholders and the supervisory board of KPMG N.V.
Our limited assurance conclusion
Based on the procedures performed and evidence obtained, nothing has come to our attention that causes us to believe that the sustainability statement of KPMG N.V. as at 30 September 2024 and for the year then ended is not, in all material respects,
prepared in accordance with the European Sustainability Reporting Standards (ESRS); and
compliant with the reporting requirements provided for in Article 8 of Regulation (EU) 2020/852 (Taxonomy Regulation) section ‘2.4 EU Taxonomy assessment’.
Our conclusion has been formed based on the matters outlined in this limited assurance report and entails a conclusion on the double materiality process carried out by KPMG N.V. as the basis for the sustainability statement and disclosure of material impacts, risks and opportunities in accordance with the ESRS.
The subject matter of our limited assurance procedures
We have conducted a limited assurance engagement on the sustainability statement of KPMG N.V., Amstelveen included in section ‘Sustainability statement’ of the Board of management report in the Integrated report 2023/2024 including the information incorporated in the sustainability statement by reference as at 30 September 2024 and for the year then ended (hereafter: the sustainability statement).
As further explained in the “Procedures performed” section below, the procedures performed in a limited assurance engagement are less in extent than for a reasonable assurance engagement, consequently, the level of assurance obtained is substantially lower.
The basis for our conclusion
We conducted our limited assurance engagement in accordance with Dutch law, including the Dutch Standard 3810N ‘Assuranceopdrachten inzake duurzaamheidsverslaggeving’ (assurance engagements relating to sustainability reporting), which is a specific Dutch Standard that is based on the International Standard on Assurance Engagements (ISAE) 3000 ‘Assurance engagements other than audits or reviews of historical financial information’. Our responsibilities under this standard are further described in the section ‘Our responsibilities for the limited assurance engagement’ of our report. We believe that the evidence we have obtained is sufficient and appropriate to provide a basis for our conclusion.
Our independence and quality management
We are independent of KPMG N.V. in accordance with the ‘Verordening inzake de onafhankelijkheid van accountants bij assuranceopdrachten’ (ViO - Code of ethics for professional accountants, a regulation with respect to independence). Furthermore, we have complied with the ‘Verordening gedrags- en beroepsregels accountants’ (VGBA - Dutch Code of ethics for professional accountants, a regulation with respect to rules of professional conduct).
PwC applies the ‘Nadere voorschriften kwaliteitssystemen’ (NVKS – Regulations for quality systems) which requires our firm to design, implement and operate a system of quality management including policies or procedures regarding compliance with ethical requirements, professional standards and applicable legal and regulatory requirements.
Comparative information not subject of assurance procedures
No reasonable or limited assurance procedures have been performed on the comparative information in the sustainability statement in the integrated report for the year ended 30 September 2024. Consequently, the comparative information in the sustainability statement and thereto related disclosures for the year ended 30 September 2024 have not been subject to reasonable or limited assurance procedures.
Limitations to the scope of our assurance engagement
The sustainability statement includes prospective information such as expectations on ambitions, strategy, plans, expectations, and estimates and risk assessments. Inherent to this prospective information, the actual future results are uncertain and are likely to differ from these expectations. These differences may be material. We do not provide any assurance on the assumptions and achievability of forward-looking information.
Calculations to determine Scope 3 GHG emissions as included in the sustainability statement are mostly based on assumptions and sources from third parties which includes information about value chain and information collected from actors in the value chain, when appropriate. The assumptions and sources used, are explained in section 'Definitions of all metrics' of the Appendices to the sustainability statement. We have not performed procedures on the content of these assumptions and these external sources, other than evaluating the suitability and plausibility of these assumptions and sources from third parties used.
In the sustainability statement references are made to external sources or websites. The information on these external sources or websites is not part of the sustainability statement reviewed by us. We therefore do not provide assurance on this information.
Our conclusion is not modified in respect of these matters.
Responsibilities for the sustainability statement and the review thereon
Responsibilities of the board of management and the supervisory board for the sustainability statement
The board of management of KPMG N.V. is responsible for developing and implementing a process to identify the information reported in the sustainability statement in accordance with the ESRS and for disclosing this process in note section ‘1.7 Description of the process to identify and assess material IROs and disclosure requirements covered by our sustainability statement’ of the sustainability statement. This responsibility includes:
understanding the context in which KPMG N.V.’s activities and business relationships take place and developing an understanding of its affected stakeholders;
the identification of the actual and potential impacts (both negative and positive) related to sustainability matters, as well as risks and opportunities that affect, or could reasonably be expected to affect, the entity’s financial position, financial performance, cash flows, access to finance or cost of capital over the short-, medium-, or long-term;
the assessment of the materiality of the identified impacts, risks and opportunities related to sustainability matters by selecting and applying appropriate thresholds; and
making assumptions and estimates that are reasonable in the circumstances.
The board of management of KPMG N.V. is further responsible for the preparation of the sustainability statement in accordance with the ESRS, including applying the reporting criteria. The board of management is also responsible for preparing the disclosures in section ‘2.4 EU Taxonomy assessment’ of the sustainability statement, in compliance with Article 8 of EU Regulation 2020/852 (the “Taxonomy Regulation”). The choices made by the board of management regarding the scope of the sustainability statement and the reporting policy are summarised in section ‘Basis for preparation of our sustainability statement’ and section 'Definitions of all metrics' ‘of the Appendices to the sustainability statement of the integrated report.
Furthermore, the board of management is responsible for such internal control as the board of management determines is necessary to enable the preparation of the sustainability statement that is free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error.
The supervisory board is responsible for overseeing the company’s reporting process on the sustainability statement including the double materiality process carried out by KPMG N.V.
Our responsibilities for the limited assurance engagement of the sustainability statement
Our responsibility is to plan and perform the limited assurance engagement in a manner that allows us to obtain sufficient and appropriate assurance evidence to provide a basis for our conclusion.
Our objectives are to obtain a limited level of assurance, as appropriate, about whether the sustainability statement is free from material misstatements and to issue a limited assurance conclusion in our report. The procedures vary in nature and timing from, and are less in extent than for, a reasonable assurance engagement. The level of assurance obtained in a limited assurance engagement is therefore substantially less than the assurance obtained in a reasonable assurance engagement in relation to both the risk assessment procedures, including an understanding of internal control, and the procedures performed in response to the assessed risks.
Our other responsibilities in respect of the sustainability statement include:
Performing risk assessment procedures, including obtaining an understanding of internal control relevant to the engagement, to identify where material misstatements are likely to arise, whether due to fraud or error; and
Designing and performing procedures responsive to where material misstatements are likely to arise in the sustainability statement. 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.
Procedures performed
We have exercised professional judgement and have maintained professional scepticism throughout the review, in accordance with the Dutch Standard 3810N, ethical requirements and independence requirements. Our procedures included, amongst other things of the following:
Performing an analysis of the external environment and obtaining an understanding of relevant sustainability themes and issues, the characteristics of the company, its activities and the value chain and its key intangible resources in order to assess the double materiality process carried out by the company as the basis for the sustainability statement and disclosure of all material sustainability-related impacts, risks and opportunities in accordance with ESRS.
Obtaining through inquiries a general understanding of the internal control environment, the company’s processes for gathering and reporting entity-related and value chain information, the information systems and the company’s risk assessment process relevant to the preparation of the sustainability statement and for identifying the company’s activities, determining eligible and aligned activities and prepare the disclosures provided for in Article 8 of Regulation (EU) 2020/852 (Taxonomy Regulation), without testing the operating effectiveness of controls.
Identifying and assessing areas of the sustainability statement, including the disclosures provided for in Article 8 of Regulation (EU) 2020/852 (Taxonomy Regulation) where misleading or unbalanced information or material misstatements, whether due to fraud or error, are likely to arise . Designing and performing further assurance procedures aimed at determining that the sustainability statement is free from material misstatements responsive to this risk analysis.
Assessing the double materiality process carried out by the board of management of KPMG N.V. as the basis for the sustainability statement and disclosure of material impacts, risks and opportunities in accordance with ESRS and considering whether the description of the process in the sustainability report made by the board of management appears consistent with the process carried out by the company.
Considering whether the description of the double materiality assessment process in the sustainability statement made by the board of management appears consistent with the process carried out by KPMG N.V.
Evaluated the methods, assumptions and data for developing estimates and forward-looking information. Assessing whether KPMG N.V.’s methods for developing estimates are appropriate and have been consistently applied for selected disclosures. Our procedures did not include testing the data on which the estimates are based or separately developing our own estimates against which to evaluate KPMG N.V.’s estimates.
Analysing, on a limited sample basis, relevant internal and external documentation at the level of the entity (including other entities or value chain from which the information may stem) for selected disclosures.
Reading the other information in the integrated report to identify material inconsistencies, if any, with the sustainability statement.
Considering whether the disclosures provided to address the reporting requirements provided for in Article 8 of Regulation (EU) 2020/852 (Taxonomy Regulation) for each of the environmental objectives, reconcile with the underlying records of KPMG N.V. and are consistent or coherent with the sustainability statement, appear reasonable, in particular whether the eligible economic activities meet the cumulative conditions to qualify as aligned and whether the technical criteria are met, and whether the accompanying key performance indicators disclosures have been defined and calculated in accordance with the Taxonomy reference framework, and comply with the reporting requirements provided for in Article 8 of Regulation (EU) 2020/852 (Taxonomy Regulation), including the format in which the activities are presented.
Reconciling the relevant financial information to the financial statements.
Considering the overall presentation, structure and balanced content of the sustainability statement, including the reporting requirements provided for in Article 8 of Regulation (EU) 2020/852 (Taxonomy Regulation).
Considering whether the sustainability statement as a whole, including the sustainability matters and disclosures, is clearly and adequately disclosed in accordance with ESRS.
We communicate with the supervisory board regarding, among other matters, the planned scope and timing of the review and significant findings that we identify during our review.
Amsterdam, 6 December 2024
PricewaterhouseCoopers Accountants N.V.
Original has been signed by M.C. Bond RA