National Grid 2008 Annual Report Download - page 25

BOWNE INTEGRATED TYPESETTING SYSTEM
CRC: 31951
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: 19
8/6019.00.00.00Y59930BNY
[A/E] EDGAR 2 *Y59930/019/6*
BOWNE INTEGRATED TYPESETTING SYSTEM
CRC: 31951
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: 19
8/6019.00.00.00Y59930BNY
[A/E] EDGAR 2 *Y59930/019/6*
Table of Contents
PART III
The Company has responded to Item 18 in lieu of this Item.
The information set forth under the headings “Accounting policies” on pages 114 to 120, “Adoption of new
accounting standards” on page 121, “Consolidated income statement” on page 122, “Consolidated balance sheet” on
page 123, “Consolidated cash flow statement” on page 125, “Consolidated statement of recognised income and
expense” on page 124, “Notes to the consolidated financial statements-analysis of items in the primary statements”
on pages 126 to 152, and “Notes to the consolidated financial statements — supplementary information” on
pages 153 to 178 of the Company’s Annual Report and Accounts 2007/08 contained in Exhibit 15.1 is incorporated
herein by reference.
The report of PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm is presented
below.
Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm
to the Board of Directors and Shareholders of National Grid plc
In our opinion, the accompanying consolidated income statements and the related consolidated balance sheets,
consolidated statements of cash flows, consolidated statements of recognised income and expense, present fairly, in
all material respects, the financial position of National Grid plc and its subsidiaries at 31 March 2008 and 2007 and
the results of their operations and cash flows for each of the three years in the period ended 31 March 2008, in
conformity with International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRSs) as issued by the International Accounting
Standards Board and in conformity with International Financial Reporting Standards as adopted by the European
Union. Also, in our opinion the Company maintained, in all material respects, effective internal control over financial
reporting as of 31 March 2008, based on criteria established in Internal Control — Integrated Framework issued by
the COSO. The Company’s management are responsible for these financial statements, for maintaining effective
internal control over financial reporting and for its assessment of the effectiveness of internal control over financial
reporting, included in Managements’ evaluation of the effectiveness of internal control over financial reporting under
Item 15 in this Form 20-F. Our responsibility is to express opinions on these financial statements and on the
Company’s internal control over financial reporting based on our audits (which were integrated audits in 2007 and
2008). 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 financial statements are free of material misstatement and whether effective internal control over
financial reporting was maintained in all material respects. Our audits of the financial statements included examining,
on a test basis, evidence supporting the amounts and disclosures in the financial statements, assessing the accounting
principles used and significant estimates made by management, and evaluating the overall financial statements
presentation. Our audit of internal control over financial reporting included obtaining an understanding of internal
control over financial reporting, assessing the risk that a material weakness exists, and testing and evaluating the
design and operating effectiveness 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 financial reporting is 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 generally accepted accounting principles. A company’s internal control over financial reporting
includes those policies and procedures that (i) pertain to the maintenance of records that, in reasonable detail,
accurately and fairly reflect the transactions and dispositions of the assets of the company; (ii) provide reasonable
assurance that transactions are recorded as necessary to permit preparation of financial statements in accordance with
generally accepted accounting principles, and that receipts and expenditures of the company are being made only in
accordance with authorizations of management and directors of the company; and (iii) provide reasonable
16
Item 17.
F
inancial Statements
Item 18.
F
inancial Statements