Public Interest Entity (PIE)
Engagement objectives
Our primary responsibility as your auditor is to form and express an opinion as to whether the financial statements show a true and fair view in accordance with the reporting framework and comply with the Companies Act 2006.
We also report to you whether, in our opinion, based on the work undertaken in the course of the audit, the information given in the Strategic Report and the Directors’ Report is consistent with the financial statements and the Strategic Report and the Directors’ Report have been prepared in accordance with applicable legal requirements. We are also required to state, in the light of the knowledge and understanding of the company and its environment obtained in the course of the audit, whether or not we identified material misstatements in the Strategic Report and the Directors’ Report.
In addition, we report on whether the auditable part of the Directors’ Remuneration Report has been properly prepared in accordance with the Companies Act 2006.
If you required to report on how you have applied the UK Corporate Governance Code, or to explain why you have not, under International Standards on Auditing (UK) we are required to:
- Describe those specific assessed risks of material misstatement that we identified and which had the greatest effect on the audit strategy; the allocation of resources in the audit; and directing the efforts of the engagement team;
- Provide an explanation of how we applied the concept of materiality in planning and performing the audit including the threshold used as being materiality for the group and parent company financial statements as a whole;
- Provide an overview of the scope of our audit, including an explanation of how the scope addressed each assessed risk of material misstatement and was influenced by our application of materiality;
Additional Report to the Audit Committee
We are required by ISA 260 “Communication with those charged with governance” to report separately to the audit committee to explain the results of the audit carried out and the following additional matters:
- The nature, frequency and extent of communication with the audit committee, the management body and the administrative or supervisory body of the entity, including the dates of meetings with those bodies.
- A description of the audit methodology used, including which categories of the balance sheet have been directly verified and which categories have been verified based on system and
- compliance testing, including an explanation of any substantial variation in the weighting of system and compliance testing when compared to the previous year.
Comments on whether significant control deficiencies identified during the audit have been resolved by management. - Details of any significant matters involving actual or suspected non-compliance with laws and regulations considered to be relevant in order to enable the audit committee to fulfil its tasks; and
- Report the valuation methods applied to the various items in the consolidated financial statements including any impact of changes of such methods.
Our other responsibilities comprise:
- a review of whether the Corporate Governance report reflects the company’s compliance with the provisions of the UK Corporate Governance Code specified for our review by the Listing Rules of the Financial Conduct Authority;
- a review of the directors’ statements in the annual report on the appropriateness of adopting the going concern basis of accounting and their assessment of the prospects of the company specified for our review by the Listing Rules;
- consideration of whether other information contained in the Annual Report [Chairman’s Statement, Operating and Financial Review, Chief Executive’s review, Corporate Governance Statement, unaudited part of the Directors’ Remuneration Report, the Strategic Report, and Directors’ Report etc.] is consistent with the audited financial statements.
- consideration of whether, in the light of our understanding of the group and the parent company and its environment obtained in the course of the audit, we have identified any material misstatements in the strategic report or directors’ report;
- reporting to you where the directors’ use of the going concern basis of accounting in the preparation of the financial statements is not appropriate or where the directors have not disclosed in the financial statements any material uncertainties that may cast significant doubt about the group or company’s ability to continue to adopt the going concern basis of accounting for a period of at least twelve months from the date when the financial statements are authorised for issue;
- reporting to you if, in our opinion:
- adequate accounting records have not been kept by the parent company, or returns adequate for our audit have not been received from branches not visited by us; or
- the parent 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.
In addition, we will coordinate the work performed by other firms of auditors who are responsible for the audits of subsidiary companies.
We will plan our work with a view to ensuring:
- minimum disruption to your staff and operations;
- that reports submitted to you are constructive and clear, focusing on the issues that matter;
- that surprises are avoided and that good communications are maintained with you throughout the assignment.
Our engagement letter dated sets out in detail our respective responsibilities.
Reliance on internal control
During the planning phase of our audit we will re-confirm our understanding of the business environment established by the directors, including internal controls, relevant to the audit. Where we plan to place reliance on internal controls, we will test the operation of those controls. If our examination of internal controls leads us to believe there may be significant deficiencies therein, we will report our findings to you.Qualitative aspects of accounting practices and financial reporting
We will discuss with you any areas where our experience as auditor leads us to believe that accounting practices and financial reporting could be improved.Implication of changes within financial reporting framework, environment, financial condition or activities
We will discuss with you any changes in our planned approach to address the implications on the financial statements and disclosures of any significant changes within the applicable financial reporting framework or in the entity’s or group’s environment, financial condition or activities.Materiality
The directors, or members of a limited liability partnership, have primary responsibility for ensuring that annual financial statements are free from material misstatement or error. In accounting terms, a material error is one that, if it were unadjusted, would cause a user of the financial statements to alter his view of those statements or the results or the financial position of the entity being reported on. Materiality, therefore, is incapable of monetary definition, since it has both quantitative and qualitative elements. It is necessary to consider not only the impact of an error on the financial statements as a whole, but also on the individual accounting items affected. Additionally, the cumulative impact of all unadjusted errors must be considered.Auditors examine financial statements on a test basis. The level of testing we will carry out is based on our assessment of the risk that an item in the financial statements may be materially misstated (see below). As such, as well as for the reasons stated in the preceding paragraph, it is neither practical nor appropriate to give an indication of the value of an item we would consider to be material although, clearly, we do relatively more work in areas where the risk of misstatement is considered to be high.
A key element of our annual audit planning is to make an assessment of the risk that the financial statements might contain material errors. We base this assessment on our knowledge of the entity or group and understanding of its business and of the industry in which it operates. We assess risk both at the overall financial statement and at the individual item levels. Risk assessments may be amended as the audit progresses. The nature and volume of audit work we will conduct are directly related to the outcome of our risk assessments.
Going Concern
The economic difficulties of recent years and the subsequent paucity of available credit have resulted in far greater focus, by both directors or members of a limited liability partnership, and auditors, on the appropriateness of adopting the going concern assumption used in the preparation of financial statements. As auditor it is our responsibility to consider management’s assessment of the entity’s or group’s ability to continue as a going concern together with any relevant disclosures in the financial statements in order for them to show a true and fair view.When making its assessment, if management is aware of material uncertainties related to events or conditions that may cast significant doubt upon the ability to continue as a going concern, those uncertainties shall be disclosed. Management’s assessment must cover a period of at least twelve months from the date of approval of the financial statements. As auditor we shall consider the appropriateness of management’s use of the going concern assumption and related disclosures.
“Guidance on the Going Concern Basis of Accounting and Reporting on Solvency and Liquidity Risks - Guidance for directors of companies that do not apply The UK Corporate Governance Code” was issued by the Financial Reporting Council (FRC) in April 2016. The guidance is intended to assist directors of ‘non-Code’ companies in applying the relevant requirements in accounting standards and company law, including the requirements of new UK and Ireland GAAP and the strategic report.
Dealing with errors
We will record and investigate all potential errors that we discover during our work and, except for matters which we judge to be clearly trivial, communicate our findings to management directly responsible for the preparation of the company’s financial statements. These matters will include the adequacy of disclosures made within the financial statements. Management must decide which errors are material and therefore require adjustment if the financial statements are to show a true and fair view. We will ask management to provide us with written explanations supporting any decision not to make adjustments, which we will discuss with them. If we cannot agree with management’s decisions, we will consider the implications for our audit opinion.In accordance with the requirements of ISA (UK) 260 ‘Communication with those charged with governance’, we are required to report to you all known adjusted and unadjusted errors (including those relating to disclosures within the financial statements) unless they are considered ‘clearly trivial’. We will request written representation that you are comfortable with any unadjusted errors and the reasons for adjustment not being made.
Fraud
In accordance with the requirements of ISA (UK) 240, we will consider the susceptibility of the entity or group to fraud, taking account of the business and control environment established and maintained by the directors, as well as the nature of transactions, assets and liabilities recorded in the accounting records. However, the principal responsibility for the prevention and detection of fraud rests with management, who should not rely on the audit to discharge those functions. We will request a written representation that you have disclosed to us the results of your assessment of the risk that the financial statements may be materially misstated as a result of fraud.We will report, as soon as practicable, any suspected or discovered fraud which comes to our attention, even if the potential effect on the financial statements is immaterial, unless there is a legal or regulatory requirement to report direct to a third party.
Compliance with law and regulations
We will report, as soon as practicable, any suspected or actual non-compliance with law or regulations which comes to our attention, unless there is a legal or regulatory requirement to report direct to a third party.Audit scope limitations
Should any factors arise during the course of our audit that may limit our scope, we will inform you immediately and seek to have the limitation removed.Information and access
We will request a written representation that you have provided us with all relevant information and access as set out in the current letter of engagement, and that all transactions have been recorded and are reflected in the financial statements.Audit Report and auditor’s responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements
ISA (UK) 700 (Revised June 2016) ‘Forming an opinion and reporting on financial statements’ provides auditors with options as to the location in the audit report of the description of the auditor’s responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements. Those options are:
- Cross refer to the applicable version of a “Description of the Auditor’s Responsibilities for the Audit of the Financial Statements” that is maintained on the Financial Reporting Council website; or
- Include the description within an appendix to the auditor’s report and include a reference to the location of the appendix within the auditor’s report; or
- Include the description within the body of the auditor’s report.
It is RSM policy to adopt option (1) unless there is a compelling reason why an alternative should be adopted. We believe this policy achieves the objective of brevity within the audit report whilst at the same time providing members with the option to review the detailed description of the auditor’s responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements as promulgated by the Financial Reporting Council on its website.