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Assurance Report of the Independent Auditor
Basis for our conclusion
Responsibilities of the Executive Board and the Supervisory Board
Our responsibilities for the assurance engagement of the sustainability data
Heineken N.V.
Annual Report 2020
Introduction
Report of the
Executive Board
Report of the
Supervisory Board
Financial
Statements
Sustainability
Review
Other
Information
We have performed our assurance engagement on the sustainability data in accordance with Dutch law,
including Dutch Standard 3000A 'Assurance engagements other than audits or reviews of historical financial
information'. This assurance engagement is aimed at obtaining limited assurance. Our responsibilities in this
regard are further described in the 'Our responsibilities for the assurance engagement of the sustainability
data' section of our report.
We are independent of the Company in accordance with the 'Verordening inzake de onaffiankelijkheid van
accountants bij assurance-opdrachten' (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).
We believe that the evidence we have obtained is sufficient and appropriate to provide a basis for
our conclusion.
The Executive Board of the Company is responsible for the preparation of the sustainability data in
accordance with the internally applied Reporting Criteria, including the identification of the intended users
and the criteria being applicable for the purposes of the intended users.
The Executive Board is also responsible for such internal control as it determines is necessary to enable the
preparation, measurement or evaluation of the sustainability data that is free from material misstatement,
whether due to fraud or errors.
The Supervisory Board is responsible for overseeing the Company's reporting process.
Our responsibility is to plan and perform the assurance assignment in a manner that allows us to obtain
sufficient and appropriate evidence for our conclusion.
The procedures performed in this context differ in nature and timing and are less extent as compared to
reasonable assurance engagements. The level of assurance obtained in a limited assurance engagement is
therefore substantially lower than the assurance that would have been obtained had a reasonable assurance
engagement been performed.
We apply the 'Nadere voorschriften kwaliteitssystemen' (NVKS, Regulations for quality management
systems) and accordingly maintain a comprehensive system of quality control including documented
policies and procedures regarding compliance with ethical requirements, professional standards and
applicable legal and regulatory requirements.
Misstatements can arise from fraud or errors and are considered material if, individually or in the aggregate,
they could reasonably be expected to influence the decisions of users taken on the basis of the sustainability
data. The materiality affects the nature, timing and extent of our procedures and the evaluation of the effect
of identified misstatements on our conclusion.
Our assurance engagement included amongst others:
- Gaining knowledge and obtaining an understanding of the sustainability data and other circumstances
regarding the engagement including gaining knowledge regarding internal controls.
- An analytical review of the data and trends submitted.
- Assessing the suitability of the Reporting Criteria.
Amsterdam, February 9, 2021
Deloitte Accountants B.V.
L. Albers
