Barclays 2006 Annual Report Download - page 153

Independent Auditors’ report
UK Audit Report of the Independent Registered Auditors’
to the members of Barclays PLC
We have audited the Group and Parent Company financial statements
(the ‘financial statements’) of Barclays PLC for the year ended
31st December 2006 which comprise the Income Statements, Balance
Sheets, Cash Flow Statements, Statements of Recognised Income and
Expense and the related notes on pages 162 to 250. These financial
statements have been prepared under the accounting policies set
out on pages 151 to 160. We have also audited the information in the
Remuneration report that is described as having been audited (‘the
auditable part’) on pages 133 to 139.
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 International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRSs) as adopted
by the European Union are set out in the statement of Directors’
responsibilities on page 141. The Directors are also responsible for
preparing the Remuneration report.
Our responsibility is to audit the financial statements and the auditable
part of the Remuneration report in accordance with relevant legal and
regulatory requirements and International Standards on Auditing (UK
and Ireland). 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
auditable part of the Remuneration report have been properly prepared
in accordance with the Companies Act 1985 and, as with regards to the
Group financial statements, Article 4 of the IAS Regulation. We also
report to you whether in our opinion the information given in the
Directors' report is consistent with the financial statements. In addition,
we report to you if, in our opinion, 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 other transactions is not disclosed.
We review whether the Corporate Governance Report reflects the
Company’s and Group’s compliance with the nine provisions of the
2003 FRC Combined Code 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 form an opinion on the
effectiveness of the Company’s or Group’s corporate governance
procedures or its risk and control procedures.
We read other information contained in the Annual Report and consider
whether it is consistent with the audited financial statements. The other
information comprises only the Chairman’s statement, Group chief
executive’s review, Financial review, Risk management, Directors’
report, Corporate governance report, the unaudited part of the
Remuneration report, Accountability and audit and Presentation of
information. We consider the implications for our report if we become
aware of any apparent misstatements or material inconsistencies with
the financial statements. Our responsibilities do not extend to any
other information.
Basis of Audit Opinion
We conducted our audit in accordance with International Standards
on Auditing (UK and Ireland) 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
auditable part of the Remuneration report. It also includes an
assessment of the significant estimates and judgments made by the
Directors in the preparation of the financial statements, and of whether
the accounting policies are appropriate to the Group’s and 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 auditable part of the 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
and the auditable part of the Remuneration report.
Opinion
In our opinion:
•the financial statements give a true and fair view, in accordance with
IFRSs as adopted by the European Union, of the state of the Group’s
and the Parent Company’s affairs as at 31st December 2006 and of
the Group’s and the Parent Company’s profit and cash flows for the
year then ended;
•the financial statements and the auditable part of the Remuneration
report have been properly prepared in accordance with the
Companies Act 1985 and, as with regards to the Group financial
statements, Article 4 of the IAS Regulation; and
•the information given in the Directors’ report is consistent with the
financial statements.
PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP
Chartered Accountants and Registered Auditors
London, United Kingdom
8th March 2007
Barclays PLC
Annual Report 2006 149
Financial statements
3
Notes
(a) The maintenance and integrity of the Barclays PLC website is the responsibility of the Directors; the work carried out by the auditors does not involve consideration
of these matters and, accordingly, the auditors accept no responsibility for any changes that may have occurred to the financial statements since they were initially
presented on the website.
(b) Legislation in the United Kingdom governing the preparation and dissemination of financial statements may differ from legislation in other jurisdictions.