Statement by the Executive Board

The Executive Board is of the opinion that the risk management and internal control systems concerning the financial reporting risks in the year under review functioned satisfactorily and give a reasonable degree of assurance that the financial reports do not contain any material misstatements. The report gives sufficient insight, therefore, into the functioning of the said systems. The Executive Board states that as far as it is aware:

• the financial statements give a true and fair view of the assets, liabilities, financial position and profits of NS and the companies included in the consolidation as a whole; 

• the annual report gives a true and fair view of the situation on the balance-sheet date and the course of business during the financial year;

• given the current state of affairs, the preparation of the financial reports on a going concern basis is justified; 

• the annual report specifies the material risks and uncertainties that are relevant to expectations about the company’s continuity for a period of twelve months after the compilation of the report.

Note that the above does not mean that those systems and procedures provide absolute assurance as regards the achievement of operational and strategic objectives, nor that they will necessarily be sufficient to prevent any and all inaccuracies, errors and cases of fraud and failure to comply with laws and regulations. Neither can they provide assurance that we will be able to reach our objectives.

Given the above, the Executive Board is of the opinion that it satisfies the requirements of best practice provision 1.2 of the Dutch Corporate Governance Code.