Accounting principles

UBS’s consolidated Financial Statements have been prepared in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) as issued by the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) and stated in Swiss francs (CHF). Until 2006, UBS also reconciled its Financial Statements to US Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (US GAAP).

Except where clearly identified, all of UBS’s financial information presented in this document is presented on a consolidated basis under IFRS. Pages 371 to 392 contain the financial statements for the UBS AG Parent Bank – the Swiss company, including branches worldwide, which owns all the UBS companies, directly or indirectly. The Parent Bank’s financial statements are prepared in order to meet Swiss regulatory requirements and in compliance with Swiss Banking Law. Except in those pages, or where otherwise explicitly stated, all references to “UBS” refer to the UBS Group and not to the Parent Bank. Pages 393 to 413 include additional disclosures required under SEC rules.

All references to 2008, 2007 and 2006 refer to the UBS Group and the Parent Bank’s fiscal years ended 31 December 2008, 2007 and 2006. The Financial Statements for the UBS Group and the Parent Bank have been audited by Ernst & Young Ltd. An explanation of the critical accounting policies applied in the preparation of UBS’s Financial Statements is provided here. The basis of UBS’s accounting is described in Note 1 to the Financial Statements.

Source: Annual report 2008, section Financial information