2023 universal registration document

5. 2023 Consolidated Financial Statements

Report on Other Legal and Regulatory Requirements

Format of preparation of the consolidated financial statements intended to be included in the annual financial report

We have also verified, in accordance with the professional standard applicable in France relating to the procedures performed by statutory auditors regarding the annual and consolidated financial statements prepared in the European single electronic format, that the preparation of the consolidated financial statements intended to be included in the annual financial report mentioned in Article L. 4511-2, I of the French Monetary and Financial Code (Code monétaire et financier), prepared under the Chief Executive Officer’s responsibility, complies with the single electronic format defined in Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) No. 2019/815 of 17 December 2018. Regarding consolidated financial statements, our work includes verifying that the tagging thereof complies with the format defined in the above-mentioned regulation.

On the basis of our work, we conclude that the preparation of the consolidated financial statements intended to be included in the annual financial report complies, in all material respects, with the European single electronic format.

Due to the technical limitations inherent to the block-tagging of the consolidated financial statements according to the European single electronic format, the content of certain tags of the notes may not be rendered identically to the accompanying consolidated financial statements.

Furthermore, we have no responsibility to verify that the consolidated financial statements that will ultimately be included by your Company in the annual financial report filed with the AMF (Autorité des marchés financiers) agree with those on which we have performed our work.

Appointment of the Statutory Auditors

We were appointed as statutory auditors of L'Oréal by your annual general meeting held on April 29, 2004 for DELOITTE & ASSOCIES and on April 21, 2022 for ERNST & YOUNG Audit.

As at December 31, 2023, DELOITTE & ASSOCIES was in the twentieth year of total uninterrupted engagement and ERNST & YOUNG Audit in the second year.

Responsibilities of Management and Those Charged with Governance for the Consolidated Financial Statements

Management is responsible for the preparation and fair presentation of the consolidated financial statements in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards as adopted by the European Union and for such internal control as Management determines is necessary to enable the preparation of consolidated financial statements that are free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error.

In preparing the consolidated financial statements, Management is responsible for assessing the Company’s ability to continue as a going concern, disclosing, as applicable, matters related to going concern and using the going concern basis of accounting unless it is expected to liquidate the Company or to cease operations.

The Audit Committee is responsible for monitoring the financial reporting process and the effectiveness of internal control and risk management systems and where applicable, its internal audit, regarding the accounting and financial reporting procedures.

The consolidated financial statements were approved by the Board of Directors.

Statutory Auditors’ Responsibilities for the Audit of the Consolidated Financial Statements

Objectives and audit approach

Our role is to issue a report on the consolidated financial statements. Our objective is to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the consolidated financial statements as a whole are free from material misstatement. Reasonable assurance is a high level of assurance, but is not a guarantee that an audit conducted in accordance with professional standards will always detect a material misstatement when it exists. Misstatements can arise from fraud or error and are considered material if, individually or in the aggregate, they could reasonably be expected to influence the economic decisions of users made on the basis of these consolidated financial statements.

As specified in Article L. 821-55 of the French Commercial Code (Code de commerce), our statutory audit does not include assurance on the viability of the Company or the quality of management of the affairs of the Company.

As part of an audit conducted in accordance with professional standards applicable in France, the statutory auditor exercises professional judgment throughout the audit and furthermore:

  • Identifies and assesses the risks of material misstatement of the consolidated financial statements, whether due to fraud or error, designs and performs audit procedures responsive to those risks, and obtains audit evidence considered to be sufficient and appropriate to provide a basis for his opinion. 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.
  • Obtains an understanding of internal control relevant to the audit 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 internal control.
  • Evaluates the appropriateness of accounting policies used and the reasonableness of accounting estimates and related disclosures made by Management in the consolidated financial statements.
  • Assesses the appropriateness of Management’s use of the going concern basis of accounting and, based on the audit evidence obtained, whether a material uncertainty exists related to events or conditions that may cast significant doubt on the Company’s ability to continue as a going concern. This assessment is based on the audit evidence obtained up to the date of his audit report. However, future events or conditions may cause the Company to cease to continue as a going concern. If the statutory auditor concludes that a material uncertainty exists, there is a requirement to draw attention in the audit report to the related disclosures in the consolidated financial statements or, if such disclosures are not provided or inadequate, to modify the opinion expressed therein.
  • Evaluates the overall presentation of the consolidated financial statements and assesses whether these statements represent the underlying transactions and events in a manner that achieves fair presentation.
  • Obtains sufficient appropriate audit evidence regarding the financial information of the entities or business activities within the Group to express an opinion on the consolidated financial statements. The statutory auditor is responsible for the direction, supervision and performance of the audit of the consolidated financial statements and for the opinion expressed on these consolidated financial statements.