BT 2014 Annual Report Download - page 124

Financial statements
121
Financial statements
Report of independent registered public
accounting rm to the Board of directors and
shareholders of BT Group plc (the company’)
In our opinion, the accompanying group income statements, group
statements of comprehensive income, group balance sheets, group
statements of changes in equity and group cash ow statements present
fairly, in all material respects, the nancial position of BT Group plc and
its subsidiaries at 31 March 2014 and 2013 and the results of their
operations and cash ows for each of the three years in the period
ended 31 March 2014, in conformity with International Financial
Reporting Standards (IFRS) as issued by the International Accounting
Standards Board. Also, in our opinion the company maintained, in all
material respects, eective internal control over nancial reporting as of
31March 2014, based on criteria established in the Turnbull Guidance.
The company’s management is responsible for these nancial
statements, for maintaining eective internal control over nancial
reporting and for its assessment of the eectiveness of internal control
over nancial reporting, included in management’s evaluation of the
eectiveness of internal control over nancial reporting as set out in
the rst two paragraphs of Internal control over nancial reporting in
Governance, General Information, of the BT Group plc Annual Report
&Form 20-F.
Our responsibility is to express opinions on these nancial statements
and on the company’s internal control over nancial reporting based on
our integrated audits. We conducted our audits in accordance with the
standards of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United
States). Those standards require that we plan and perform the audits
to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the nancial statements
are free of material misstatement and whether eective internal control
over nancial reporting was maintained in all material respects.
Our audits of the nancial statements included examining, on a test
basis, evidence supporting the amounts and disclosures in the nancial
statements, assessing the accounting principles used and signicant
estimates made by management, and evaluating the overall nancial
statement presentation. Our audit of internal control over nancial
reporting included obtaining an understanding of internal control over
nancial reporting, assessing the risk that a material weakness exists,
and testing and evaluating the design and operating eectiveness of
internal control based on the assessed risk.
Our audits also included performing such other procedures as we
considered necessary in the circumstances. We believe that our audits
provide a reasonable basis for our opinions.
A company’s internal control over nancial reporting is a process
designed to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of
nancial reporting and the preparation of nancial statements for
external purposes in accordance with generally accepted accounting
principles. A company’s internal control over nancial reporting includes
those policies and procedures that (i) pertain to the maintenance of
records that, in reasonable detail, accurately and fairly reect the
transactions and dispositions of the assets of the company (ii) provide
reasonable assurance that transactions are recorded as necessary to
permit preparation of nancial statements in accordance with generally
accepted accounting principles, and that receipts and expenditures of
the company are being made only in accordance with authorisations of
management and directors of the company and (iii) provide reasonable
assurance regarding prevention or timely detection of unauthorised
acquisition, use, or disposition of the company’s assets that could have
amaterial eect on the nancial statements.
As set out in note 1, the group adopted IAS19 Employee Benets’
(Revised2011) with eect from 1 April 2013.
Because of its inherent limitations, internal control over nancial
reporting may not prevent or detect misstatements. Also, projections
ofany evaluation of eectiveness to future periods are subject to
the riskthat controls may become inadequate because of changes
in conditions, or that the degree of compliance with the policies or
procedures maydeteriorate.
PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP
London, United Kingdom
7 May 2014
United States opinion