BT 2011 Annual Report Download - page 93

United States opinion
Report of Independent Registered Public
Accounting Firm to the Board of Directors and
Shareholders of BT Group plc (the ‘company’)
In our opinion, the accompanying Group income statements, Group
statements of comprehensive income, Group statements of
changes in equity, Group cash flow statements and Group balance
sheets present fairly, in all material respects, the financial position
of BT Group plc and its subsidiaries at 31 March 2011 and 2010
and the results of their operations and cash flows for each of the
three years in the period ended 31 March 2011, in conformity with
International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRSs) as issued by the
International Accounting Standards Board. Also, in our opinion the
company maintained, in all material respects, effective internal
control over financial reporting as of 31 March 2011, based on
criteria established in the Turnbull Guidance.
The company’s management is 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 management’s
evaluation of the effectiveness of internal control over financial
reporting as set out in the first three paragraphs of Internal control
over financial reporting in the Report of the directors, Business
Policies of the BT Group plc Annual Report & 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 integrated audits. 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 statement 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 authorisations of management
and directors of the company; and (iii) provide reasonable
assurance regarding prevention or timely detection of unauthorised
acquisition, use, or disposition of the company’s assets that could
have a material effect on the financial statements.
Because of its inherent limitations, internal control over financial
reporting may not prevent or detect misstatements. Also,
projections of any evaluation of effectiveness to future periods are
subject to the risk that controls may become inadequate because of
changes in conditions, or that the degree of compliance with the
policies or procedures may deteriorate.
PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP
London, United Kingdom
11 May 2011
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