annual report 2009
Directors' Approval
for the years ended 31 March
DIRECTORS’ RESPONSIBILITY FOR AND APPROVAL OF THE GROUP ANNUAL FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
The board of directors (the board) is responsible for the content and integrity of the group annual financial statements and related information included in this report. It is their responsibility to ensure that the annual financial statements fairly present the state of affairs of the company and the group as at the end of the financial year and the results of their operations and cash flows for the financial year, in conformity with International Financial Reporting Standards. The group’s external auditors are engaged to express an independent opinion on the group annual financial statements.
The group annual financial statements are prepared in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards. The accounting policies, unless otherwise stated, are consistently applied and supported by reasonable and prudent judgements and estimates.
The directors acknowledge that they are ultimately responsible for the system of internal control and review its operation primarily through the audit and risk committees and various other management systems.
A strong control environment is maintained by applying a risk-based system of internal accounting and administrative controls and by ensuring adequate segregation of duties. In addition, Group Audit Services (internal audit) conduct specific risk-based audits and co-ordinate audit coverage with the external auditors.
The directors are of the opinion, based on the information and explanations given by management, the internal auditors and the external auditors, that the system of internal control provides reasonable assurance that the financial records may be relied on for the preparation of the group annual financial statements. However, any system of internal control can provide only reasonable, and not absolute, assurance against material misstatement or loss.
The directors have every reason to believe that the group will continue as a going concern for the foreseeable future, and the annual financial statements have been prepared on the basis of this assumption.
The annual financial statements and group annual financial statements set out here were approved by the board on 17 June 2009 and are signed on its behalf by:
| D M Nurek | A D Murray |
| Chairman | Chief Executive Officer |
