Independent auditor’s report
To the participants and the Supervisory Committee of Vesteda Residential Fund FGR
Report on the audit of the financial statements 2022 included in the annual report
Our opinion
We have audited the financial statements 2022 (as set out on page 79 up to and including page 127) of Vesteda Residential Fund FGR, based in Amsterdam. The financial statements comprise the consolidated financial statements and the company financial statements.
In our opinion:
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The accompanying consolidated financial statements give a true and fair view of the financial position of Vesteda Residential Fund FGR as at 31 December 2022, and of its result and its cash flows for 2022 in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards as adopted by the European Union (EU- IFRS) and with Part 9 of Book 2 of the Dutch Civil Code.
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The accompanying company financial statements give a true and fair view of the financial position of Vesteda Residential Fund FGR as at 31 December 2022, and of its result for 2022 in accordance with Part 9 of Book 2 of the Dutch Civil Code.
The consolidated financial statements comprise:
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The consolidated statement of financial position as at 31 December 2022.
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The following statements for 2022: the consolidated income statement, the consolidated statements of comprehensive income, changes in equity and cash flows.
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The notes comprising material accounting policy information.
The company financial statements comprise:
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The company balance sheet as at 31 December 2022.
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The company profit and loss account for 2022.
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The notes comprising a summary of the accounting policies and other explanatory information.
Basis for our opinion
We conducted our audit in accordance with Dutch law, including the Dutch Standards on Auditing. Our responsibilities under those standards are further described in the 'Our responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements' section of our report.
We are independent of Vesteda Residential Fund FGR in accordance with the Wet toezicht accountantsorganisaties (Wta, Audit firms supervision act), the Verordening inzake de onafhankelijkheid van accountants bij assurance-opdrachten (ViO, Code of Ethics for Professional Accountants, a regulation with respect to independence) and other relevant independence regulations in the Netherlands. Furthermore, we have complied with the Verordening gedrags- en beroepsregels accountants (VGBA, Dutch Code of Ethics).
We believe the audit evidence we have obtained is sufficient and appropriate to provide a basis for our opinion.
Information in support of our opinion
We designed our audit procedures in the context of our audit of the financial statements as a whole and in forming our opinion thereon. The following information in support of our opinion was addressed in this context, and we do not provide a separate opinion or conclusion on these matters.
Materiality
Based on our professional judgement we determined the materiality for the financial statements as a whole at €72 million. The materiality is based on 1% of group equity. We have also taken into account misstatements and/or possible misstatements that in our opinion are material for the users of the financial statements for qualitative reasons.
We agreed with the Supervisory Committee that misstatements in excess of € 3.6 million, which are identified during the audit, would be reported to them, as well as smaller misstatements that in our view must be reported on qualitative grounds.
Scope of the group audit
Vesteda Residential Fund FGR is at the head of a group of entities. The financial information of this group is included in the consolidated financial statements of Vesteda Residential Fund FGR.
Because we are ultimately responsible for the opinion, we are responsible for directing, supervising and performing the group audit. In this respect we have determined the nature and extent of the audit procedures to be carried out on the entities. We have included all entities which are part of the group in our audit scope.
We have performed the audit procedures ourselves, we did not make use of component auditors.
Based on our work performed we have been able to obtain sufficient and appropriate audit evidence about the group’s financial information to provide an opinion on the consolidated financial statements.
Audit approach fraud risks
We identified and assessed the risks of material misstatements of the financial statements due to fraud. During our audit we obtained an understanding of the entity and its environment and the components of the system of internal control, including the risk assessment process and management's process for responding to the risks of fraud and monitoring the system of internal control and how the Supervisory Committee exercises oversight, as well as the outcomes. We refer to, amongst others, section Risk management of the Management Report for management's fraud risk assessment and section incidents and fraud risk of the Supervisory Committee report in which the Supervisory Committee reflects on this fraud risk assessment.
We evaluated the design and relevant aspects of the system of internal control and in particular the fraud risk assessment, as well as among others the code of conduct whistle blower procedures and incident registration. We evaluated the design and the implementation and, where considered appropriate, tested the operating effectiveness, of internal controls designed to mitigate fraud risks.
As part of our process of identifying fraud risks, we evaluated fraud risk factors with respect to financial reporting fraud, misappropriation of assets and bribery and corruption and from time to time in co-operation with our forensic specialists. We evaluated whether these factors indicate that a risk of material misstatement due fraud is present.
We did not identify fraud risk factors with respect to revenue recognition. We have assessed the accuracy of gross rental income based on a test of detail and analytical procedures on the tenancy schedule and linked the completeness to the property portfolio. Given the occupancy rate, we were able to complete an assessment of the recorded gross rental income based on the substantive analytical procedures performed using the tenancy schedules and property portfolio.
We identified the following fraud risks and performed the following specific procedures:
Fraud risk | How the fraud risk was addressed in the audit |
Management override of controls | |
We presume a risk of material misstatement due to fraud related to management override of controls. Management is in a unique position to perpetrate fraud because of its ability to manipulate accounting records and prepare fraudulent financial statements by overriding controls that otherwise appear to be operating effectively. | Our audit procedures included, among others, the following: |
This did not lead to indications for fraud potentially resulting in material misstatements.
Audit approach compliance with laws and regulations
We assessed the laws and regulations applicable to the company via our inquiries with management and other personnel, and our assessment of relevant correspondence.
As a result of our risk assessment procedures, and while realizing that the effects from non-compliance could considerably vary, we considered the following laws and regulations: adherence to financial reporting regulations, the requirements under the International Financial Reporting Standards as adopted by the European Union (EU-IFRS) and Part 9 of Book 2 of the Dutch Civil Code with a direct effect on the financial statements as an integrated part of our audit procedures, to the extent material for the related financial statements.
We obtained sufficient appropriate audit evidence regarding provisions of those laws and regulations generally recognized to have a direct effect on the financial statements.
Apart from these, the Vesteda Residential Fund FGR is subject to other laws and regulations – including amongst other the Alternative Investment Fund Managers Directive (AIFMD), the Wet op het financieel toezicht (Wft), the Wet ter voorkoming van witwassen en het financieren van terrorisme (Wwft) – where the consequences of non-compliance could have a material effect on amounts and/or disclosures in the financial statements, for instance, through imposing fines or litigation.
By nature, we remain alert to indications of (suspected) non-compliance throughout the audit. Finally, we obtained written representations that all known instances of (suspected) fraud or non-compliance with laws and regulations have been disclosed to us.
Audit approach going concern
The financial statements of Vesteda Residential Fund FGR have been prepared on the basis of the going concern assumption. As indicated in the responsibilities of the management below, the management is responsible for assessing the company's ability to continue as a going concern.
We have evaluated the management’s assessment of the company's ability to continue as a going concern and inquired the management regarding any knowledge of events or conditions beyond the period of the management’s assessment. Sensititvity analyses of the client indicates that breach of covenants is unlikely in the near future. We evaluated the sensitivity analyses and concluded that this is not a high risk in relation to the going concern. Furthermore we noted that there is no indication that cash positions and cash flows will be insufficient to meet future obligations. The Company has total liabilities for obligations entered into for construction contracts, rental and lease instalments which stood at €354 million at year-end 2022. These off-balance sheet commitments will be financed via, (a) the cash flow from operating activities, (b) the available cash position as per 31 December 2022, (c) the outstanding undrawn commitments of €850 million as well as undrawn uncommitted instruments of €969 million to the extent needed, noting sufficient headroom in the current market circumstances, considering the loan covenant requirements related to the debt funding. The tenant mix does not lead to concern over dependency on a single tenant or group of tenants in respect to the rental income and respective cash flows.
This did not lead to indications of the company not being able to continue as a going concern, which is in line with management’s assessment.
Our key audit matters
Key audit matters are those matters that, in our professional judgement, were of most significance in our audit of the financial statements. We have communicated the key audit matters to the Supervisory Committee. The key audit matters are not a comprehensive reflection of all matters discussed.
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.
Description of key audit matters | Summary of procedures and activities |
Valuation of investment property | |
Refer to notes 15 and 16 to the consolidated financial statements. | Our audit procedures included, among others, the following: |
Report on the other information included in the annual report
The annual report contains other information, in addition to the financial statements and our auditor's report thereon. The other information consists of:
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Management Report.
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Other Information as required by Part 9 of Book 2 of the Dutch Civil Code.
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Other included information.
Based on the following procedures performed, we conclude that the other information:
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Is consistent with the financial statements and does not contain material misstatements.
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Contains all the information regarding the Management Report and the other information as required by Part 9 of Book 2 of the Dutch Civil Code.
We have read the other information. Based on our knowledge and understanding obtained through our audit of the financial statements or otherwise, we have considered whether the other information contains material misstatements.
By performing these procedures, we comply with the requirements of Part 9 of Book 2 of the Dutch Civil Code and the Dutch Standard 720. The scope of the procedures performed is substantially less than the scope of those performed in our audit of the financial statements.
Management is responsible for the preparation of the other information, including the Management Report in accordance with Part 9 of Book 2 of the Dutch Civil Code, and the other information as required by Part 9 of Book 2 of the Dutch Civil Code.
Report on other legal and regulatory requirements
Engagement
We were engaged by the Supervisory Committee as auditor of Vesteda Residential Fund FGR on April 1, 2015, as of the audit for the year 2016 and have operated as statutory auditor ever since that financial year.
Description of responsibilities regarding the financial statements
Responsibilities of management and the Supervisory Committee for the financial statements
Management is responsible for the preparation and fair presentation of the financial statements in accordance with EU-IFRS and Part 9 of Book 2 of the Dutch Civil Code. Furthermore, management is responsible for such internal control as management determines is necessary to enable the preparation of the financial statements that are free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error.
As part of the preparation of the financial statements, management is responsible for assessing the company's ability to continue as a going concern. Based on the financial reporting frameworks mentioned, management should prepare the financial statements using the going concern basis of accounting unless management either intends to liquidate the company or to cease operations, or has no realistic alternative but to do so.
Management should disclose events and circumstances that may cast significant doubt on the company's ability to continue as a going concern in the financial statements.
The Supervisory Commmittee is responsible for overseeing the company's financial reporting process.
Our responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements
Our objective is to plan and perform the audit assignment in a manner that allows us to obtain sufficient and appropriate audit evidence for our opinion.
Our audit has been performed with a high, but not absolute, level of assurance, which means we may not detect all material errors and fraud during our audit.
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 taken on the basis of these financial statements. The materiality affects the nature, timing and extent of our audit procedures and the evaluation of the effect of identified misstatements on our opinion.
We have exercised professional judgement and have maintained professional scepticism throughout the audit, in accordance with Dutch Standards on Auditing, ethical requirements and independence requirements. Our audit included among others:
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Identifying and assessing the risks of material misstatement of the financial statements, whether due to fraud or error, designing and performing audit procedures responsive to those risks, and obtaining audit evidence that is sufficient and appropriate to provide a basis for our 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.
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Obtaining 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 company's internal control.
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Evaluating the appropriateness of accounting policies used and the reasonableness of accounting estimates and related disclosures made by management.
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Concluding on 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. If we conclude that a material uncertainty exists, we are required to draw attention in our auditor's report to the related disclosures in the financial statements or, if such disclosures are inadequate, to modify our opinion. Our conclusions are based on the audit evidence obtained up to the date of our auditor's report. However, future events or conditions may cause the company to cease to continue as a going concern.
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Evaluating the overall presentation, structure and content of the financial statements, including the disclosures.
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Evaluating whether the financial statements represent the underlying transactions and events in a manner that achieves fair presentation.
Because we are ultimately responsible for the opinion, we are also responsible for directing, supervising and performing the group audit. In this respect we have determined the nature and extent of the audit procedures to be carried out for group entities. Decisive were the size and/or the risk profile of the group entities or operations. On this basis, we selected group entities for which an audit or review had to be carried out on the complete set of financial information or specific items.
We communicate with the Supervisory Committee regarding, among other matters, the planned scope and timing of the audit and significant audit findings, including any significant findings in internal control that we identified during our audit.
We provide the Supervisory Committee with a statement that we have complied with relevant ethical requirements regarding independence, and to communicate with them all relationships and other matters that may reasonably be thought to bear on our independence, and where applicable, related safeguards.
From the matters communicated with the Supervisory Committee, we determine the key audit matters: those matters that were of most significance in the audit of the financial statements. We describe these matters in our auditor's report unless law or regulation precludes public disclosure about the matter or when, in extremely rare circumstances, not communicating the matter is in the public interest.
Amsterdam, 23 March 2023
Deloitte Accountants B.V.
Signed on the original: J. Holland