BT 2004 Annual Report Download - page 74

United Kingdom Opinion
Independent auditors’ report to the shareholders of
BT Group plc
We have audited the financial statements which comprise the
group profit and loss account, group and company balance
sheets, group cash flow statement, group statement of total
recognised gains and losses and the related notes which have
been prepared under the historical cost convention and the
accounting policies set out in the Accounting Policies section.
We have also audited the disclosures required by Part 3 of
Schedule 7A to the Companies Act 1985 contained in the
directors’ remuneration report (‘‘the audited part’’).
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. The directors are also
responsible for preparing the directors’ remuneration report.
Our responsibility is to audit the financial statements
and the audited part of the directors’ remuneration report in
accordance with relevant legal and regulatory requirements
and United Kingdom Auditing Standards issued by the
Auditing Practices Board. This report, including the opinion,
has been prepared for and only for the company’s members
as a body in accordance with Section 235 of the Companies
Act 1985 and for no other purpose. We do not, in giving this
opinion, accept or assume responsibility for any other
purpose or to any other person to whom this report is shown
or into whose hands it may come save where expressly
agreed by our prior consent in writing.
We report to you our opinion as to whether the financial
statements give a true and fair view and whether the financial
statements and the audited part of the directors’
remuneration report have been properly prepared in
accordance with the 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 regarding directors’
remuneration and transactions is not disclosed.
We read the other information contained in the Annual
Report and Form 20-F 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 those sections set out in the
table of contents including Financial headlines, Chairman’s
message, Chief Executive’s statement, Operating and
financial review, Report of the directors, Corporate
governance and Risk factors.
We review whether the corporate governance statement
reflects the company’s compliance with the seven provisions
of the Combined Code issued in June 1998 specified for our
review by the Listing Rules of the Financial Services
Authority, 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 and
the audited part of the directors’ remuneration report. 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 and
the audited part of the directors’ remuneration report 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
31 March 2004 and of the profit and cash flows of the group
for the year then ended; the financial statements have been
properly prepared in accordance with the Companies Act
1985; and those parts of the directors’ remuneration report
required by Part 3 of Schedule 7A to the Companies Act
1985 have been properly prepared in accordance with the
Companies Act 1985.
PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP
Chartered Accountants and Registered Auditors
London
19 May 2004
United States Opinion
To the board of directors and shareholders of
BT Group plc
In our opinion, the accompanying group profit and loss
account, group balance sheet, group cash flow statement,
group statement of total recognised gains and losses and the
related notes present fairly, in all material respects, the
financial position of BT Group plc and its subsidiaries at 31
March 2004 and 2003, and the results of their operations
and their cash flows for each of the three years in the period
ended 31 March 2004, in conformity with accounting
principles generally accepted in the United Kingdom. These
financial statements are the responsibility of the group’s
management; our responsibility is to express an opinion on
these financial statements based on our audits. We
conducted our audits of these statements in accordance with
auditing standards generally accepted in the United States of
America, which require that we plan and perform the audit to
obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial
statements are free of material misstatement. An audit
includes 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 statement presentation. We believe that our audits
provide a reasonable basis for our opinion.
Accounting principles generally accepted in the United
Kingdom vary in certain important respects from accounting
principles generally accepted in the United States of America.
Information relating to the nature and effect of such
differences is presented in the United States Generally
Accepted Accounting Principles section.
PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP
Chartered Accountants and Registered Auditors
London
19 May 2004
BT Annual Report and Form 20-F 200473
Report of the independent auditors