Statement of Directors' responsibilities
The Directors are responsible for preparing the Annual Report and Accounts, including the consolidated financial statements and the Company financial statements and the Directors’ Remuneration Report, in accordance with applicable law and regulations.
Company law requires the Directors to prepare financial statements for each financial year. Under that law the Directors have prepared the consolidated financial statements in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) as adopted by the European Union, and the Company financial statements and the Directors’ Remuneration Report in accordance with applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards (United Kingdom generally accepted accounting practice, UK GAAP). In preparing the consolidated financial statements, the Directors have also elected to comply with IFRS, issued by the International Accounting Standards Board. Under company law the Directors must not approve the financial statements unless they are satisfied that they give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the Company on a consolidated and individual basis and of the profit or loss of the Company on a consolidated and individual basis for that period.
In preparing these financial statements, the Directors are required to:
- select suitable accounting policies and then apply them consistently;
- make judgements and estimates that are reasonable and prudent;
- state that the consolidated financial statements comply with IFRS as adopted by the European Union and, with regard to the Company financial statements, that applicable UK Accounting Standards have been followed, subject to any material departures disclosed and explained in the financial statements; and
- prepare the consolidated financial statements and Company financial statements on a going concern basis unless it is inappropriate to presume that the Company, on a consolidated and individual basis, will continue in business, in which case there should be supporting assumptions or qualifications as necessary.
The Directors are responsible for keeping adequate accounting records that are sufficient to show and explain the Company’s transactions and disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the Company on a consolidated and individual basis and to enable them to ensure that the consolidated financial statements comply with the Companies Act 2006 and Article 4 of the IAS Regulation and the Company financial statements and the Directors’ Remuneration Report comply with the Companies Act 2006. They are also responsible for safeguarding the assets of the Company and its subsidiaries and hence for taking reasonable steps for the prevention and detection of fraud and other irregularities.
Each of the Directors, whose names and functions are listed in the Business Overview section of the Annual Report and Accounts in the Board of Directors section, confirms that, to the best of their knowledge:
- the consolidated financial statements and the Company financial statements, which have been prepared in accordance with IFRS as adopted by the European Union and UK GAAP respectively, give a true and fair view of the assets, liabilities, financial position and profit of the Company on a consolidated and individual basis; and
- the Annual Report includes a fair review of the development and performance of the business and the position of the Company on a consolidated and individual basis, together with a description of the principal risks and uncertainties that it faces.
By order of the Board
Helen Mahy
Company Secretary & General Counsel
19 May 2010