HSBC 2012 Annual Report Download - page 370

HSBC HOLDINGS PLC
Statement of Directors’ Responsibilities
Statement
368
The following statement, which should be read in conjunction with the Auditor’s statement of their responsibilities
set out in their report on pages 369 and 370, is made with a view to distinguishing for shareholders the respective
responsibilities of the Directors and of the Auditor in relation to the financial statements. The Directors are
responsible for preparing the Annual Report and Accounts 2012 comprising the consolidated financial statements
of HSBC Holdings and its subsidiaries (the ‘Group’) and holding company financial statements for HSBC Holdings
(the ‘parent company’) in accordance with applicable laws and regulations.
Company law requires the Directors to prepare Group and parent company financial statements for each
financial year. The Directors are required to prepare the Group financial statements in accordance with IFRSs as
endorsed by the EU and have elected to prepare the parent company financial statements on the same basis.
The Group and parent company financial statements are required by law and IFRSs as endorsed by the EU to
present fairly the financial position, the performance for that period and for IFRSs purposes the cash flows of the Group
and the parent company. The Companies Act 2006 provides in relation to such financial statements that references in
the relevant part of that Act to financial statements giving a true and fair view are references to their achieving a fair
presentation. In addition, in order to meet certain US requirements, HSBC is required to present its financial statements
in accordance with IFRSs as issued by the International Accounting Standards Board (‘IASB’). Currently, there are no
differences in application to HSBC between IFRSs endorsed by the EU and IFRSs issued by the IASB.
In preparing each of the Group and parent company financial statements, the Directors are required to:
• select suitable accounting policies and then apply them consistently;
• make judgements and estimates that are reasonable and prudent;
• state whether they have been prepared in accordance with IFRSs as endorsed by the EU; and
• prepare the financial statements on the going concern basis unless it is inappropriate to presume that the Group
and the parent company will continue in business. Since the Directors are satisfied that the Group and parent
company have the resources to continue in business for the foreseeable future, the financial statements continue
to be prepared on the going concern basis.
The Directors are responsible for keeping adequate accounting records that are sufficient to show and explain
the parent company’s transactions and disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the
parent company and enable them to ensure that its financial statements comply with the Companies Act 2006. The
Directors have general responsibility for taking such steps as are reasonably open to them to safeguard the assets of
the Group and to prevent and detect fraud and other irregularities.
The Directors are responsible for preparing, in accordance with applicable laws and regulations, a Directors’
Report, Directors’ Remuneration Report and the Corporate Governance statement on pages 2 to 367 of this Annual
Report and Accounts 2012 and for the maintenance and integrity of the Annual Report and Accounts 2012 as they
appear on the Company’s website. UK legislation governing the preparation and dissemination of financial
statements may differ from legislation in other jurisdictions.
The Directors, the names of whom are set out in the ‘Report of the Directors: Corporate Governance’ section
on pages 302 to 307 of the Annual Report and Accounts 20121, confirm that:
• to the best of their knowledge, the consolidated financial statements, which have been prepared in accordance
with IFRSs as issued by the IASB and as endorsed by the EU, have been prepared in accordance with the
applicable set of accounting standards and give a true and fair view of the assets, liabilities, financial position
and profit or loss of the Company and the undertakings included in the consolidation taken as a whole;
• to the best of their knowledge, the management report represented by the Report of the Directors includes a
fair review of the development and performance of the business and the position of the Company and the
undertakings included in the consolidation taken as a whole, together with a description of the principal risks
and uncertainties that they face; and
• they consider that the Annual Report and Accounts 2012, taken as a whole, is fair, balanced and understandable
and provides the information necessary for shareholders to assess the Company’s performance, business model
and strategy.
On behalf of the Board
D J Flint
Group Chairman 4 March 2013
1 Other than J B Comey, who was not a Director at the time of approval of the Annual Report and Accounts 2012.