Responsibilities and governance:
Statement of directors' responsibilities
The following statement, which should be read in conjunction with the report of the auditors set out on page 53, is made with a view to distinguishing for shareholders the respective responsibilities of the directors and of the auditors in relation to the Annual Report and financial statements.
The directors are responsible for preparing the Annual Report and the Group financial statements in accordance with applicable law and International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRSs) as adopted by the European Union, and for preparing the Company financial statements and the Report on directors’ remuneration and related matters in accordance with applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice).
The directors are responsible for preparing financial statements for each financial year which give a true and fair view, in accordance with IFRSs as adopted by the European Union, of the state of affairs of the Group and the income statement of the Group and a true and fair view, in accordance with United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice of the state of affairs of the Company for that period.
The directors consider that in preparing the financial statements on pages 54 to 113, appropriate accounting policies have been consistently applied, supported by reasonable and prudent judgments and estimates, that the Group financial statements comply with IFRSs as adopted by the European Union and, with regard to the Company’s financial statements, that all accounting standards which they consider applicable have been followed.
The directors are responsible for ensuring that proper accounting records are kept which disclose, with reasonable accuracy at any time, the financial position of the Company and the Group and which enable them to ensure that the Group financial statements comply with the Companies Act 1985 and Article 4 of the IAS Regulation and the Company financial statements and the Report on directors’ remuneration and related matters comply with the Companies Act 1985. They are also responsible for safeguarding the assets of the Company and the Group and for taking reasonable steps for the prevention and detection of fraud and other irregularities.
The Company has a website which contains up to date information on Group activities and published financial results. The maintenance and integrity of this website is the responsibility of the directors. Legislation in the United Kingdom governing the preparation and dissemination of financial statements may differ from legislation in other jurisdictions.
Relevant Audit Information
As at 23 May 2006, so far as each director is aware, there is no relevant audit information of which the auditors are unaware and each director has taken all steps that he ought to have taken as a director in order to make himself aware of any relevant audit information and to establish that the auditors are aware of that information.