Independent Auditors' report to the Members of National Grid plc
We have audited the consolidated and Company financial statements (the ‘financial statements’) of National Grid plc for the year ended 31 March 2010, which comprise the consolidated income statement, the consolidated statement of comprehensive income, the consolidated and Company balance sheets, the consolidated statement of changes in equity, the consolidated cash flow statement, the accounting policies and Company accounting policies, the adoption of new accounting standards, the notes to the consolidated financial statements and the notes to the Company financial statements. The financial reporting framework that has been applied in the preparation of the consolidated financial statements is applicable law and International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) as adopted by the European Union. The financial reporting framework that has been applied in the preparation of the Company financial statements is applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice).
Respective responsibilities of Directors and Auditors
As explained more fully in the Statement of Directors’ responsibilities, the Directors are responsible for the preparation of the financial statements and for being satisfied that they give a true and fair view. Our responsibility is to audit the financial statements in accordance with applicable law and International Standards on Auditing (UK and Ireland). Those standards require us to comply with the Auditing Practices Board’s Ethical Standards for Auditors.
This report, including the opinions, has been prepared for and only for the Company’s members as a body in accordance with Chapter 3 of Part 16 of the Companies Act 2006 and for no other purpose. We do not, in giving these opinions, accept or assume responsibility for any other purpose or to any other person to whom this report is shown or into whose hands it may come save where expressly agreed by our prior consent in writing.
Scope of the audit of the financial statements
An audit involves obtaining evidence about the amounts and disclosures in the financial statements sufficient to give reasonable assurance that the financial statements are free from material misstatement, whether caused by fraud or error. This includes an assessment of: whether the accounting policies are appropriate to the group’s and Company’s circumstances and have been consistently applied and adequately disclosed; the reasonableness of significant accounting estimates made by the Directors; and the overall presentation of the financial statements.
Opinion on financial statements
In our opinion:
- the financial statements give a true and fair view of the state of the group’s and of the Company’s affairs as at 31 March 2010 and of the group’s profit and cash flows for the year then ended;
- the consolidated financial statements have been properly prepared in accordance with IFRS as adopted by the European Union;
- the Company financial statements have been properly prepared in accordance with United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice; and
- the financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the requirements of the Companies Act 2006 and, as regards the group financial statements, Article 4 of the lAS Regulation.
Opinion on other matters prescribed by the Companies Act 2006
In our opinion:
- the part of the Directors’ Remuneration Report to be audited has been properly prepared in accordance with the Companies Act 2006; and
- the information given in the Directors’ Report for the financial year for which the financial statements are prepared is consistent with the financial statements.
Matters on which we are required to report by exception
We have nothing to report in respect of the following:
Under the Companies Act 2006 we are required to report to you if, in our opinion:
- adequate accounting records have not been kept by the Company, or returns adequate for our audit have not been received from branches not visited by us; or
- the Company Financial Statements and the part of the Directors’ Remuneration Report to be audited are not in agreement with the accounting records and returns; or
- certain disclosures of Directors’ remuneration specified by law are not made; or
- we have not received all the information and explanations we require for our audit.
Under the Listing Rules we are required to review:
- the Directors’ statement, in relation to Going concern; and
- the part of the Corporate Governance Statement relating to the Company’s compliance with the nine provisions of the June 2008 Combined Code specified for our review.
Murray Legg (Senior Statutory Auditor) for and on behalf of PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP
Chartered Accountants and Statutory Auditors
London
19 May 2010
(a) The maintenance and integrity of the National Grid plc website is the responsibility of the Directors; the work carried out by the auditors does not involve consideration of these matters and, accordingly, the auditors accept no responsibility for any changes that may have occurred to the financial statements since they were initially presented on the website.
(b) Legislation in the United Kingdom governing the preparation and dissemination of financial statements may differ from legislation in other jurisdictions.