Carrefour, the French supermarket company, included the following paragraph from its auditor in its 2011 annual report:
In our opinion, the consolidated financial statements give a true and fair view of the assets and liabilities and of the financial position of the Group as of 31 December 2011 and of the results of its operations for the year then ended in accordance with the IFRS as adopted by the European Union.
Safeway the U.S. supermarket chain had a similar paragraph in its 2011 annual report: In our opinion, the consolidated financial statements referred to above present fairly, in all material respects, the financial position of Safeway Inc. and subsidiaries as of January 3, 2012, . . . and the results of their operations and their cash flows for [the year] ended January 3, 2012, in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America.
Explain what is meant by “in accordance with the IFRS as adopted by the European Union” and “in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America.”