Orano - Annual Activity Report 2024 386 6 STATEMENTS Statutory Auditors’ report on the consolidated financial statements for the financial year ended December 31, 2024 ● assessing the key assumptions used by management, particularly the risks and opportunities and variable items of revenue on completion, through business reviews with project managers; ● assessing the reasonableness of the main assumptions on which the estimates of future costs are based by comparing, using sampling techniques, historical forecast data to actual data and analyzing the consequences of discrepancies on future costs and performance plans in progress; ● assessing the consistency of the contract management data (revenue and costs on completion, costs incurred) with the analytical income statement; ● assessing, where applicable, the measurement of the financial components; ● recalculating, where applicable, the gradual recognition of the financial component within revenue and in financial income (expense). Measurement of provisions for end-oflife-cycle obligations and provisions for contract completion Description of risk As a nuclear operator, the Group has a legal obligation to: ● following the final shut-down of its industrial facilities which are classified as regulated nuclear facilities, dismantle these facilities; ● manage the recovery and packaging of radioactive waste; and ● ensure the maintenance and monitoring of all facilities storing radioactive waste. The Group must therefore set aside provisions to cover the future costs related to the dismantling of its facilities as well as the intermediate storage, recovery, packaging, transportation and storage of waste and monitoring of the sites (called “Provisions for end-of-life-cycle operations – within the scope of the Law”). Under the law on securing the funding of nuclear expenses, the Group is also required to allocate, exclusively for this purpose, the necessary financial assets to cover these different costs. The Group also owns other industrial facilities that are considered, according to the regulations, as facilities classified for environmental protection and therefore also subject, upon their final shutdown, to safety, rehabilitation and waste management obligations, which require provisions (called “Provisions for endof-life-cycle operations – outside the scope of the Law”) to be set aside. The law on securing the funding of nuclear expenses does not apply to this category of facilities. In addition, the future costs of intermediate storage, treatment, packaging, transportation and storage of waste derived from operating activities and of certain materials also result in the setting aside of provisions (called “Provisions for contract completion”). At December 31, 2024, provisions for end-of-life-cycle operations amounted to 9,059 million euros (of which 8,708 million euros in provisions for end-of-life-cycle operations – within the scope of the Law and 351 million euros in provisions for end-of-lifecycle operations – outside the scope of the Law). Provisions for contract completion amounted to 1,909 million euros. The market value of the assets dedicated to the coverage of the provisions for end-of-life-cycle operations – within the scope of the Law is 8,446 million euros. The accounting policies and treatments applied, the methods for measuring these provisions, the assumptions used and the related uncertainties are described in Notes 1.2, 1.3.11, 1.3.12, 13 and 25 to the consolidated financial statements. We deemed the measurement of provisions for end-of-life-cycle operations and provisions for contract completion to be a key audit matter given: ● the material amount of these provisions in the financial statements; ● the complexity of the models for estimating costs related in particular to the long-term horizon and limited past experience of such operations as well as the complexity of the scenarios and technical solutions considered; ● the potentially material impact on the amount of the provisions of uncertainties related to changes in the regulations or requirements of safety authorities, the scenarios and technical procedures considered, waste removal and storage methods and their availability, knowledge of the initial condition of the facilities and their intended final condition, the facilities’ operating life, future disbursement schedules, procedures for final shut-down and changes in inflation and discount rates; and ● the negative effects on the Group’s financial position in the event of an increase in provisions for end-of-life-cycle operations – within the scope of the Law (mobilization of additional funds to increase the amount of assets dedicated to the coverage of these provisions in order to satisfy the regulatory coverage rate within the required deadline). How our audit addressed this risk We verified the compliance of the methodology for measuring these different provisions with the accounting, legal and regulatory provisions and examined the methods for measuring them. In particular, we: ● gained an understanding of the legal and regulatory context as well as the exchanges with the administrative authority (particularly follow-up letters from the French Directorate General of Energy and Climate) in relation to these provisions; ● took into consideration the classification of the different types of waste (provisions for end-of-life-cycle operations – within the scope of the Law, provisions for end-of-life-cycle operations – outside the scope of the Law, and provisions for contract completion) in relation to the Group’s interpretation of the current regulations; ● gained an understanding of the processes for measuring provisions, the existing controls and the associated governance principles and in particular assessed the implementation of certain key controls (such as the existence of a robust and relevant body of documentation, summary and risk analysis notes made by management, and the validation of the provisions by management through dedicated committees: the Cleanup and Dismantling Fund Monitoring Committee and the Committee for Monitoring End-of-Life-Cycle Obligations);
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