National Grid 2008 Annual Report Download - page 22

BOWNE INTEGRATED TYPESETTING SYSTEM
CRC: 55652
Name: NATIONAL GRID
Date: 17-JUN-2008 03:10:51.35Operator: BNY99999TPhone: [phone]Site: BOWNE OF NEW YORK
Y59930.SUB, DocName: 20-F, Doc: 1, Page: 16
7/6016.00.00.00Y59930BNY
[A/E] EDGAR 2 *Y59930/016/6*
BOWNE INTEGRATED TYPESETTING SYSTEM
CRC: 55652
Name: NATIONAL GRID
Date: 17-JUN-2008 03:10:51.35Operator: BNY99999TPhone: [phone]Site: BOWNE OF NEW YORK
Y59930.SUB, DocName: 20-F, Doc: 1, Page: 16
7/6016.00.00.00Y59930BNY
[A/E] EDGAR 2 *Y59930/016/6*
Table of Contents
system of disclosure controls and procedures, including the possibility of human error and the circumvention or
overriding of the controls and procedures. Accordingly, even effective disclosure controls and procedures can
provide only reasonable assurance of achieving their control objectives. Based on that evaluation, the Chief
Executive and Finance Director concluded that the disclosure controls and procedures are effective to provide
reasonable assurance that information required to be disclosed in the reports that we file and submit under the
Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, is recorded, processed, summarised and reported as and when required
and communicated to our management, including the Chief Executive and Finance Director, as appropriate, to allow
timely decisions regarding disclosure.
Managements’ evaluation of the effectiveness of internal control over financial reporting
Our management is responsible for establishing and maintaining adequate internal control over financial
reporting as defined in Rules 13a-15(f) and 15d-15(f) under Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. Our
internal control over financial reporting is designed to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of
financial reporting and the preparation of financial statements for external purposes in accordance with IFRS as
adopted by the European Union and IFRS as published by the International Accounting Standards Board. Because of
its inherent limitations, internal control over financial reporting may not prevent or detect misstatements.
Our management, with the participation of the Chief Executive and Finance Director, conducted an evaluation
of the effectiveness of its internal control over financial reporting based on the framework in Internal Control-
Integrated Framework issued by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission (COSO).
Based on this evaluation, management concluded that our internal control over financial reporting was effective as of
31 March 2008.
Because KeySpan Corporation was acquired by us during the financial year ended 31 March 2008, it was not
required to be included in management’s assessment of internal control over financial reporting for the year ended
31 March 2008, and therefore, management have excluded it from its assessment. KeySpan Corporation is a wholly-
owned subsidiary whose total assets and total revenues represented 25% and 22%, respectively, of the related
consolidated financial statement amounts as of and for the year ended 31 March 2008.
PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, which has audited our consolidated financial statements for the fiscal year ended
31 March 2008, has also audited the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting. The attestation
report of PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP is included under Item 18 of this Form 20-F.
Change in internal control over financial reporting
During the period covered by this report, there were no changes in our internal control over financial reporting
that have materially affected, or are reasonably likely to materially affect, our internal control over financial
reporting.
The Board of Directors has determined that George Rose, chairman of the Company’s Audit Committee, is an
“audit committee financial expert’’ within the meaning of this Item 16A. A brief listing of Mr. Rose’s relevant
experience is included as part of Item 6. Mr. Rose is also “independent’’ within the meaning of the New York Stock
Exchange listing rules.
We have adopted a code of ethics that applies to our principal executive officer, principal financial officer and
principal accounting officer or controller, and any person performing similar functions. This code is available on our
website at www.nationalgrid.com, where any amendments or waivers will also be posted. There were no
amendments to, or waivers under, our Code of Ethics in the fiscal year ended 31 March 2008.
13
Item 16.
[
Reserved]
Item 16A.
A
udit Committee Financial Ex
p
ert
Item 16B. Code o
f
Ethics