Tesco 2001 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 which comprise the profit
and loss account, the balance sheet, the cash flow statement, the
statement of total recognised gains and losses and the related notes,
including the information on Directors’ emoluments and share details
included within tables one to five, in the remuneration report on
pages 13 to 16, which have been prepared under the historical cost
convention and the accounting policies set out in the statement of
accounting policies on pages 22 and 23.
Respective responsibilities of Directors and auditors
The Directors’ responsibilities for preparing the annual report and
the financial statements, in accordance with applicable United
Kingdom law and accounting standards, are set out in the statement
of Directors’ responsibilities.
Our responsibility is to audit the financial statements in
accordance with relevant legal and regulatory requirements, United
Kingdom Auditing Standards issued by the Auditing Practices Board
and the Listing Rules of the Financial Services Authority.
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 1985. 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. The other information comprises only the
Directors’ report, the Chairman’s statement, the operating and
financial review, the corporate governance statement and the report
of the Directors on remuneration.
We review whether the corporate governance statement reflects the
company’s compliance with the seven provisions of the Combined
Code specified for our review by the Listing Rules, 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 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 24 February
2001 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 9 April 2001
DIRECTORS’ RESPONSIBILITIES FOR THE PREPARATION
OF THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
INDEPENDENT AUDITORS’ REPORT TO THE MEMBERS OF TESCO PLC