Critical accounting policies and estimates

KPN's significant accounting policies are set out on pages 129 to 137 of the Consolidated Financial Statements. The preparation of our financial statements requires us to make estimates, judgments and assumptions that affect the reported amounts in our Consolidated Financial Statements.

We base our estimates about the carrying values of assets and liabilities that are not readily apparent from other sources on historical experience, independent valuations and various other assumptions that we believe are reasonable under the circumstances. Actual results may differ from these estimates under different assumptions or conditions. We believe the accounting policies and estimates that are most critical in the preparation of our consolidated financial statements and which require subjective or complex judgments from management are the following:

impairments of goodwill and other long-lived assets;
useful lives of long-lived assets and valuation of acquired assets;
income taxes;
pensions and other post-retirement benefits;
provision for litigation and contingencies; and
financial instruments.