Holiday Inn 2015 Annual Report Download - page 82

Financial Statements and accounting records
The Directors are required to prepare financial statements for the
Company and the Group at the end of each financial year in accordance
with all applicable laws and regulations. Under company law the
Directors must not approve the Financial Statements unless they are
satisfied that they give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the
Group and the profit or loss of the Group for that period. In preparing
these Financial Statements, theDirectors are required to:
• select suitable accounting policies and apply them consistently;
• make judgements and accounting estimates that are reasonable;
• state whether the Consolidated Financial Statements have been
prepared in accordance with International Financial Reporting
Standards (IFRS) as issued by the International Accounting
Standards Board (IASB), for use in the EU and Article 4 of the
EU IAS Regulation;
• state for the Company Financial Statements whether applicable
UK accounting standards have been followed; and
• prepare the Financial Statements on the going concern basis unless
it is inappropriate to presume that the Company and the Group will
continue in business.
The Directors have responsibility for ensuring that the Group keeps
proper accounting records which disclose with reasonable accuracy
the financial position of the Group and the Company to enable them
to ensure that the Financial Statements comply with the Companies
Act 2006 and, as regards the Consolidated Financial Statements,
Article 4 of the EU IAS Regulation. The Directors are also responsible
for the system of internal control, for safeguarding the assets of the
Company and the Group, and taking reasonable steps toprevent and
detect fraud and other irregularities.
Disclosure and Transparency Rules
The Board confirms that to the best of its knowledge:
• the Financial Statements have been prepared in accordance
with IFRS as issued by the IASB and IFRS as adopted by the EU,
give a true and fair view of the assets, liabilities, financial position
and profit and loss of the Group taken as a whole; and
• the Annual Report, including the Strategic Report, includes a fair
review of the development and performance of the business and the
position of the Group taken as a whole, together with a description
of the principal risks and uncertainties that it faces.
UK Corporate Governance Code
Having taken advice from the Audit Committee, the Board considers
that this Annual Report and Form 20-F, taken as a whole is fair,
balanced and understandable and that it provides the information
necessary for shareholders to assess the Company’s performance,
business model and strategy.
Disclosure of information to Auditor
The Directors who held office as at the date of approval of this
report confirm that they have taken steps to make themselves
aware of relevant audit information (as defined by Section 418(3)
of the Companies Act 2006). None of the Directors are aware of
any relevant audit information which has not been disclosed to
the Company’s Auditor.
Management’s report on internal control over financialreporting
Management is responsible for establishing and maintaining adequate
internal control over financial reporting for the Group, asdefined
in Rule 13a-15(f) and 15d-15(f) under the Securities Exchange Act
of 1934 as a process designed to provide reasonable assurance
regarding the reliability of financial reporting and the preparation
of financial statements for external purposes in accordance with IFRS.
The Group’s internal control over financial reporting includes policies
and procedures that:
• pertain to the maintenance of records that, in reasonable detail,
accurately and fairly reflect the Group’s transactions and
dispositions of assets;
• are designed to provide reasonable assurance that transactions are
recorded as necessary to permit the preparation of the Financial
Statements in accordance with IFRS as issued by the IASB and IFRS
as adopted by the EU, and that receipts and expenditure are being
made only in accordance with authorisation of management and the
Directors of the Company; and
• provide reasonable assurance regarding prevention or timely
detection of unauthorised acquisition, use or disposition of the
Group’s assets that could have a material effect on the
FinancialStatements.
Any internal control framework has inherent limitations and internal
control over financial reporting may not prevent or detect
misstatements. Also, projections of any evaluation of effectiveness
tofuture periods are subject to the risk that controls may become
inadequate because of changes in conditions or the degree of
compliance with the policies or procedures may deteriorate.
Management has undertaken an assessment of the effectiveness of
the Group’s internal control over financial reporting at 31 December
2015 based on criteria established in the Internal Control-Integrated
Framework issued by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the
Treadway Commission (2013 Framework) (the COSO criteria).
Based on this assessment, management has concluded that as at
31 December 2015 the Group’s internal control over financial reporting
was effective.
During the period covered by this document there were no changes
in the Group’s internal control over financial reporting that have
materially affected or are reasonably likely to materially affect the
effectiveness of the internal controls over financial reporting.
The Group’s internal control over financial reporting at 31December
2015, together with the Group’s Consolidated Financial Statements,
were audited by Ernst & Young LLP, an independent registered public
accounting firm. Their report on internal control overfinancial
reporting can be found on page 86.
For and on behalf of the Board
Richard Solomons Paul Edgecliffe-Johnson
Chief Executive Officer Chief Financial Officer
22 February 2016 22 February 2016
Statement of Directors’ Responsibilities
80 IHG Annual Report and Form 20-F 2015