We have audited the Annual Financial Statements and Group Annual Financial Statements of South African Eagle Insurance Company Limited set out in the Annual Financial Statements for the year ended 31 December 2004. These financial statements are the responsibility of the Company’s Directors. Our responsibility is to express an opinion on these financial statements based on our audit.

Scope

We conducted our audit in accordance with statements of South African Auditing Standards. Those standards require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain reasonable assurance that the financial statements are free of material misstatement. An audit includes:

• examining, on a test basis, evidence supporting the amounts and disclosures included in the financial statements;
  
• assessing the accounting principles used and significant estimates made by management; and
  
• evaluating the overall financial statement presentation.
  

We believe that our audit provides a reasonable basis for our opinion.

Audit opinion

In our opinion, the financial statements fairly present, in all material respects, the financial position of the Company and the Group at 31 December 2004 and the results of their operations, changes in equity and cash flows for the year then ended in accordance with South African Statements of Generally Accepted Accounting Practice and in the manner required by the Companies Act in South Africa.