1. The annual accounts of companies shall be audited by one or more persons approved by Member States to carry out statutory audits on the basis of the Eighth Council Directive 84/253/EEC of 10 April 1984 on the approval of persons responsible for carrying out the statutory audits of accounting documents [OJ L 126, 12.5.1984, p. 20.].
The statutory auditors shall also express an opinion concerning the consistency or otherwise of the annual report with the annual accounts for the same financial year.
2. The Member States may relieve the companies referred to in Article 11 from the obligation imposed by paragraph 1.
Article 12 shall apply.
3. Where the exemption provided for in paragraph 2 is granted the Member States shall introduce appropriate sanctions into their laws for cases in which the annual accounts or the annual reports of such companies are not drawn up in accordance with the requirements of this Directive.