NOTES TO THE CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS 181 INDEPENDENT AUDITORS’ REPORT In our opinion, the consolidated financial statements give a true and fair view of the net assets, financial position, results of opera- tions and cash flows of the Group for the business year in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards ( IFRS). We have audited the consolidated financial statements, comprising the balance sheet, the income statement and the statements of changes in shareholders’ equity and cash flows as well as the notes to the financial statements prepared by Allianz Aktiengesellschaft, Mu- nich, for the business year from January 1 to December 31, 2003. The preparation and the content of the consolidated financial statements in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) are the responsibility of the Company’s management. Our responsi- bility is to express an opinion on these consolidated financial state- ments based on our audit. Our audit, which also extends to the group management report prepared by the Company’s management for the business year from January 1 to December 31, 2003, has not led to any reservations. In our opinion, on the whole, the group management report provides a suitable understanding of the Group’s position and suitably pres- ents the risks of future development. In addition, we confirm that the consolidated financial statements and the group management report for the business year from January 1 to December 31, 2003, satisfy the conditions required for the Company’s exemption from its duty to prepare consolidated financial statements and the group manage- ment report in accordance with German law. We conducted our audit of the consolidated financial statements in accordance with German auditing regulations and German ge- nerally accepted standards for the audit of financial statements prom- ulgated by the Institut der Wirtschaftsprüfer (IDW, Institute of Inde- pendent Auditors), and in supplementary compliance with auditing standards generally accepted in the United States of America (U.S. GAAS). Those standards require that we plan and perform the audit such that it can be assessed with reasonable assurance whether the consolidated financial statements are free of material misstatements. Knowledge of the business activities and the economic and legal en- vironment of the Group and the evaluations of possible misstate- ments are taken into account in the determination of audit proce- dures. The evidence supporting the amounts and disclosures in the consolidated financial statements are examined on a test basis within the framework of the audit. The audit includes assessing the ac- counting principles used and significant estimates made by manage- ment, as well as evaluating the overall presentation of the consoli- dated financial statements. We believe that our audit provides a rea- sonable basis for our opinion. Munich, March 2, 2004 KPMG Deutsche Treuhand-Gesellschaft Aktiengesellschaft Wirtschaftsprüfungsgesellschaft Gottfried Wohlmannstetter Independent Auditor Dr. Frank Pfaffenzeller Independent Auditor