Tesco 2011 Annual Report Download - page 63

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Events after the Balance Sheet date There were no material events
after the Balance Sheet date.
Auditors A resolution to re-appoint PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP
as auditors of the Company and the Group will be proposed at the
2011 AGM.
Directors’ statement of disclosure of information to auditors
Having made the requisite enquiries, the Directors in office at the date
of this Annual Report and Financial Statements have each confirmed
that, so far as they are aware, there is no relevant audit information
(as defined by Section 418 of the Companies Act 2006) of which the
Group’s auditors are unaware, and each of the Directors has taken all
the steps he/she ought to have taken as a Director to make himself/
herself aware of any relevant audit information and to establish that
the Group’s auditors are aware of that information. This confirmation
is given and should be interpreted in accordance with the provisions
of Section 418 of the Companies Act 2006.
Political and charitable donations Cash donations to charities
amounted to £15,613,319 (2010 – £31,221,573). Total contributions
to community projects including cash, cause-related marketing,
gifts-in-kind, staff time and management costs amounted to
£64,254,910 (2010 – £61,592,464). There were no political donations
(2010 – £nil). During the year, the Group made contributions of
£55,085 (2010 – £49,365) in the form of sponsorship for political
events: Conservative Party £8,491; Labour Party £13,506; Liberal
Democrat Party £7,637; Plaid Cymru £1,640; Scottish National Party
£4,700; Waste Watch £1,000; trade unions £18,111.
Supplier payment policy Tesco PLC is a signatory to the Prompt
Payment Code in the UK. More information about the Code can be
found at www.promptpaymentcode.org.uk. Payment terms and
conditions are agreed with suppliers in advance and the Group pays
its creditors in accordance with those terms. Payment terms vary
according to the type of product and territory in which the suppliers
operate. Tesco PLC is a holding company and therefore has no trade
creditors on its Balance Sheet.
Compliance with the Groceries (Supply Chain Practices) Market
Investigation Order 2009 and the Groceries Supply Code of
Practice (Code) The Code came into force in the UK on 4 February
2010 and places obligations on grocery retailers with a turnover greater
than £1 billion to build a compliance programme, which includes
training staff and providing information to the OFT as requested.
In addition, the Code sets out a number of provisions which relate
to different aspects of the retailer/supplier relationship.
We are committed to treating our suppliers fairly and work in
collaboration with them wherever possible. It is in our nature to
treat compliance with the Code very seriously.
Prior to the introduction of the Code, Tesco took a number of steps
to ensure that it was ready to comply. We have in place a compliance
training programme for our buying teams and a comprehensive training
course is provided for all relevant new starters. Annual refresher training
is provided via a bespoke e-learning programme.
We have appointed a Code Compliance Officer (CCO) supported by a
small team including an auditor. We have developed an audit plan and
our approach enables us to identify any gaps in our processes so they
can be quickly fixed.
All alleged breaches of the Code raised by suppliers have been resolved
internally. We had an instance of a supplier initiating the Dispute
Resolution Procedure set out in the Code. This matter was escalated
within the relevant commercial category and resolved.
The CCO submits reports to the Audit Committee which considers that
it retains effective oversight of our compliance with the Code.
Going concern The Directors consider that the Group and the
Company have adequate resources to remain in operation for the
foreseeable future and have therefore continued to adopt the going
concern basis in preparing the financial statements. As with all business
forecasts, the Directors’ statement cannot guarantee that the going
concern basis will remain appropriate given the inherent uncertainty
about future events.
TESCO PLC Annual Report and Financial Statements 2011
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