Report of the statutory auditor to the General Meeting of Sonova Holding AG
Report of the statutory auditor on the financial statements
As statutory auditor, we have audited the financial statements of Sonova Holding AG, which comprise the balance sheets, income statements and notes, for the year ended 31 March 2021.
Board of Directorsʼ responsibility
The Board of Directors is responsible for the preparation of the financial statements in accordance with the requirements of Swiss law and the companyʼs articles of incorporation. This responsibility includes designing, implementing and maintaining an internal control system relevant to the preparation of financial statements that are free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error. The Board of Directors is further responsible for selecting and applying appropriate accounting policies and making accounting estimates that are reasonable in the circumstances.
Auditorʼs responsibility
Our responsibility is to express an opinion on these financial statements based on our audit. We conducted our audit in accordance with Swiss law and Swiss Auditing Standards. Those standards require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain reasonable assurance whether the financial statements are free from material misstatement.
An audit involves performing procedures to obtain audit evidence about the amounts and disclosures in the financial statements. The procedures selected depend on the auditorʼs judgment, including the assessment of the risks of material misstatement of the financial statements, whether due to fraud or error. In making those risk assessments, the auditor considers the internal control system relevant to the entityʼs preparation of the financial statements in order to design audit procedures that are appropriate in the circumstances, but not for the purpose of expressing an opinion on the effectiveness of the entityʼs internal control system. An audit also includes evaluating the appropriateness of the accounting policies used and the reasonableness of accounting estimates made, as well as evaluating the overall presentation of the financial statements. We believe that the audit evidence we have obtained is sufficient and appropriate to provide a basis for our audit opinion.
Opinion
In our opinion, the financial statements for the year ended 31 March 2021 comply with Swiss law and the companyʼs articles of incorporation.
Report on key audit matters based on the circular 1/2015 of the Federal Audit Oversight Authority
Key audit matters are those matters that, in our professional judgment, were of most significance in our audit of the financial statements of the current period. These matters were addressed in the context of our audit of the financial statements as a whole, and in forming our opinion thereon, and we do not provide a separate opinion on these matters. For each matter below, our description of how our audit addressed the matter is provided in that context.
We have fulfilled the responsibilities described in the Auditorʼs responsibility section of our report, including in relation to these matters. Accordingly, our audit included the performance of procedures designed to respond to our assessment of the risks of material misstatement of the financial statements. The results of our audit procedures, including the procedures performed to address the matters below, provide the basis for our audit opinion on the financial statements.
Valuation of investments in subsidiaries
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Area of focus |
| Our audit response |
As of 31 March 2021, investments in subsidiaries of the Company amounted to CHF 314.4 million and represent 9.7% of total assets. Investments in subsidiaries are valued at historical cost less any impairment of value. The Company values investments in subsidiaries individually (single-asset-valuation principle). Refer to note 2.3 (Investments) in the financial statements for further details. |
| Our audit procedures included understanding the Company’s investment in subsidiaries impairment testing process and the determination of key assumptions. We evaluated the Company’s impairment testing model and key assumptions. We further corroborated the Company’s key assumptions applied based on internally and externally available evidence and underlying data. Our audit procedures did not lead to any reservations relating to the valuation of investments in subsidiaries. |
Other matter
The financial statements of Sonova Holding AG for the year ended 31 March 2020 were audited by another statutory auditor who expressed an unmodified opinion on those financial statements on 14 May 2020.
Report on other legal requirements
We confirm that we meet the legal requirements on licensing according to the Auditor Oversight Act (AOA) and independence (article 728 CO and article 11 AOA) and that there are no circumstances incompatible with our independence.
In accordance with article 728a para. 1 item 3 CO and Swiss Auditing Standard 890, we confirm that an internal control system exists, which has been designed for the preparation of financial statements according to the instructions of the Board of Directors.
We further confirm that the proposed appropriation of available earnings complies with Swiss law and the companyʼs articles of incorporation. We recommend that the financial statements submitted to you be approved.
Zurich, 17 May 2021
Ernst & Young Ltd
Martin Mattes
Licensed audit expert
(Auditor in charge)
Pascal Solèr
Licensed audit expert
