Tesco 2000 Annual Report Download - page 19

TESCO PLC
17
The Directors are required by the Companies Act 1985 to prepare
financial statements for each financial year which give a true and fair
view of the state of affairs of the company and the Group as at the
end of the financial year and of the profit or loss for the financial year.
The Directors consider that in preparing the financial statements
on pages 18 to 39 the company has used appropriate accounting
policies, consistently applied and supported by reasonable and
prudent judgements and estimates, and that all accounting standards
which they consider to be applicable have been followed.
The Directors have responsibility for ensuring that the company keeps
accounting records which disclose, with reasonable accuracy, the
financial position of the company and which enable them to ensure
that the financial statements comply with the Companies Act 1985.
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.
We have audited the financial statements on pages 18 to 39
which have been prepared under the historical cost convention
and the accounting policies set out on pages 22 and 23, and the
information on Directors’ emoluments and share details included
on pages 13 to 16.
Respective responsibilities
of Directors and auditors
The Directors are responsible for preparing the Annual Report.
As described above, this includes responsibility for preparing the
financial statements, in accordance with applicable United Kingdom
accounting standards. Our responsibilities, as independent auditors,
are established in the United Kingdom by statute, the Auditing
Practices Board, the Listing Rules of the London Stock Exchange
and our profession’s ethical guidance.
We report to you our opinion as to whether the financial
statements give a true and fair view and are properly prepared
in accordance with the United Kingdom Companies Act.We also
report to you if, in our opinion, the Directors’ report is not
consistent with the financial statements, if the company has not
kept proper accounting records, if we have not received all the
information and explanations we require for our audit, or if
information specified by law or the Listing Rules regarding Directors’
remuneration and transactions is not disclosed.
We read the other information contained in the Annual Report
and consider the implications for our report if we become aware
of any apparent misstatements or material inconsistencies with the
financial statements.
We review whether the statement on page 11 reflects the
company’s compliance with the seven provisions of the Combined
Code specified for our review by the London Stock Exchange, and
we report if it does not.We are not required to consider whether
the Board’s statements on internal control cover all risks and
controls, or to form an opinion on the effectiveness of the
company’s or the Group’s corporate governance procedures
or its risk and control procedures.
Basis of audit opinion
We conducted our audit in accordance with Auditing Standards
issued by the Auditing Practices Board. An audit includes
examination, on a test basis, of evidence relevant to the amounts
and disclosures in the financial statements. It also includes an
assessment of the significant estimates and judgements made by
the Directors in the preparation of the financial statements, and of
whether the accounting policies are appropriate to the company’s
circumstances, consistently applied and adequately disclosed.
We planned and performed our audit so as to obtain all the
information and explanations which we considered necessary in
order to provide us with sufficient evidence to give reasonable
assurance that the financial statements are free from material
misstatement, whether caused by fraud or other irregularity or
error. In forming our opinion we also evaluated the overall adequacy
of the presentation of information in the financial statements.
Opinion
In our opinion the financial statements give a true and fair view
of the state of affairs of the company and the Group at 26 February
2000 and of the profit and cash flows of the Group for the year then
ended and have been properly prepared in accordance with the
Companies Act 1985.
Chartered Accountants and Registered Auditors
London 10 April 2000
directors’ responsibilities for the preparation
of the financial statements
auditors’ report to the members of Tesco PLC