Directors' Responsibility Statement
Overview
The directors are required by the Companies & Other Business Entities Act (24:31) to maintain adequate accounting records and are responsible for the content and integrity of the financial statements and related financial information included in this report. It is their responsibility to ensure that the consolidated financial statements fairly present the state of affairs of the Company as at the end of the financial year and the results of its operations and cash flows for the year then ended, in conformity with International Financial Reporting Standards. The external auditors are engaged to express an independent opinion on the financial statements.
The directors acknowledge that they are ultimately responsible for the system of internal financial control established by the Company and place considerable importance on maintaining a strong control environment. To enable the directors to meet these responsibilities, the Board sets standards for internal control aimed at reducing the risk of error or loss in a cost effective manner. The standards include the proper delegation of responsibilities within a clearly defined framework, effective accounting procedures and adequate segregation of duties to ensure an acceptable level of risk. These controls are monitored throughout the Company and all employees are required to maintain the highest ethical standards in ensuring the Company’s business is conducted in a manner that in all reasonable circumstances is above reproach. The focus of risk management in the Company is on identifying, assessing, managing and monitoring all known forms of risk across the Company. While operating risk cannot be fully eliminated, the Company endeavours to minimize it by ensuring that appropriate infrastructure, controls, systems and ethical behaviour are applied and managed within predetermined procedures and constraints.
The directors are of the opinion, based on the information and explanations given by management that the system of internal control provides reasonable assurance that the financial records may be relied upon for the preparation of the financial statements. However, any system of internal financial control can provide only reasonable, and not absolute, assurance against material misstatement or loss. The directors have assessed the ability of the Company to continue operating as a going concern and believe that the preparation of the financial statements on a going concern basis is still appropriate. The external auditors are responsible for independently auditing and reporting on the financial statements. The financial statements and related notes have been examined by the Company’s external auditors and their report is presented on pages 30 to 33.
