The directors are responsible for preparing the Directors’ Report, including the Directors’ Remuneration Report, and the Group and parent company financial statements 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 Group Financial Statements in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) as adopted by the EU and the parent company financial statements in accordance with UK Accounting Standards (UK Generally Accepted Accounting Principles) and applicable law. The Group and parent company Financial Statements are required by law to give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the Company and the Group and of the profit or loss of the Group for that period.
In preparing those Financial Statements, the directors are required to:
– select suitable accounting policies and then apply them consistently;
– make judgments and estimates that are reasonable and prudent;
– state that the Group Financial Statements comply with [IFRS] as adopted by the European Union and IFRS issued by the [IASB], and with regard to the parent 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 Group and parent company financial statements on the going concern basis unless it is inappropriate to presume that the Group and parent company will continue in business, in which case there should be supporting assumptions or qualifications as necessary.
The directors are responsible for keeping proper accounting records that disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the Group and parent company and to enable them to ensure that the Directors’ Remuneration Report and the Financial Statements comply with the Companies Act 2006 and, as regards the Group Financial Statements, Article 4 of the [IAS] Regulation. They are also responsible for safeguarding the assets of the Group and for taking such reasonable steps to prevent and detect fraud and other irregularities.
The directors are responsible for the maintenance and integrity of the information included on the Group’s website. Legislation in the United Kingdom governing the preparation and dissemination of financial statements may differ from legislation in other jurisdictions.
Responsibility statement
Each of the directors listed in the Board of Directors section confirms that to the best of their knowledge:
(a) the financial statements, prepared in accordance with the applicable set of accounting standards, give a true and fair view of the assets, liabilities, financial position and profit or loss of the Company and the Group as a whole; and
(b) the directors’ report includes a fair review of the development and performance of the business and the position of the Company and Group as a whole, together with a description of the principal risks and uncertainties that they face.
By order of the Board
G J Timms
Company Secretary
22 March 2010
