Audit of the annual and consolidated financial statements

The Annual General Meeting of Volkswagen AG on June 22, 2016 elected PricewaterhouseCoopers Aktiengesellschaft Wirtschaftsprüfungsgesellschaft as auditors for fiscal year 2016, in line with our proposal. The auditors audited the annual financial statements of Volkswagen AG, the consolidated financial statements of the Volkswagen Group and the combined management report, and issued unqualified audit reports in each case.

In addition, they analyzed the risk management and internal control systems, concluding that the Board of Management had taken the measures required by section 91(2) of the AktG to ensure early detection of any risks endangering the continued existence of the Company. The Report by the Board of Management on Relationships of Volkswagen AG with Affiliated Companies in Accordance with Section 312 of the AktG for the period from January 1 to December 31, 2016 (dependent company report) submitted by the Board of Management was also audited by the auditors, who issued the following opinion: “In our opinion and in accordance with our statutory audit, we certify that the factual disclosures provided in the report are correct and that the Company’s consideration concerning legal transactions referred to in the report was not unduly high.”

The members of the Audit Committee and the members of the Supervisory Board were provided in each case with the documentation relating to the annual financial statements, including the dependent company report, and the audit reports prepared by the auditors in good time for their meetings on February 23, 2017 and February 24, 2017, respectively. The auditors reported extensively at both meetings on the material findings of their audit and were available to provide additional information.

Taking into consideration the audit reports and the discussion with the auditors and based on its own conclusions, the Audit Committee prepared the documents for the Supervisory Board’s examination of the consolidated financial statements, the annual financial statements of Volkswagen AG, the combined management report and the dependent company report and reported on these at the Supervisory Board meeting on February 24, 2017. Following this, the Audit Committee recommended that the Supervisory Board approve the annual financial statements. We examined the documents in depth in the knowledge and on the basis of the report by the Audit Committee and the audit report as well as in talks and discussions with the auditors. We came to the conclusion that they are due and proper and that the assessment of the position of the Company and the Group presented by the Board of Management in the management report corresponds to the assessment by the Supervisory Board. We therefore concurred with the auditors’ findings and approved the annual financial statements prepared by the Board of Management and the consolidated financial statements at our meeting on February 24, 2017, at which the auditors also took part in discussions on the agenda items relating to the financial statements. The annual financial statements are thus adopted. Our examination of the dependent company report did not result in any objections to the concluding declaration by the Board of Management in the dependent company report. We reviewed the proposal on the appropriation of net profit submitted by the Board of Management, taking into account in particular the interests of the Company and its shareholders, and endorsed the proposal.

The trust of our customers, shareholders, partners, employees and the general public is our most important asset. The Supervisory Board will spare no effort to ensure that Volkswagen restores their trust. In doing so, we can and will set store by the qualities and strengths that have distinguished our Company and made it strong ever since it was established.

We would like to express our thanks and particular appreciation to the members of the Board of Management, the Works Council, the management and all the employees of Volkswagen AG and its affiliated companies for their work in 2016. With your resolve and loyalty, you all helped Volkswagen Group cope with the diverse challenges it faced in fiscal year 2016, rebuild trust and successfully tackle its realignment under the future program TOGETHER – Strategy 2025.

Wolfsburg, February 24, 2017

Hans Dieter Pötsch
Chairman of the Supervisory Board