Barclays 2007 Annual Report Download - page 166

Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm
to the Board of Directors and Shareholders of Barclays PLC
In our opinion, the accompanying Consolidated income statements and
the related Consolidated balance sheets, Consolidated statements of
recognised income and expense and, Consolidated statements of cash
flows present fairly, in all material respects, the financial position of
Barclays PLC (the ‘Company’) and its subsidiaries at 31st December 2007
and 31st December 2006 and the results of their operations and cash
flows for each of the three years in the period ended 31st December 2007,
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 31st December 2007, based on
criteria established in Internal Control – Integrated Framework issued
by the COSO. The Company’s management are 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 report
on internal control over financial reporting’ in the section headed
Accountability and audit. Our responsibility is to express opinions on these
financial statements and on the Company’s internal control over financial
reporting based on our audits which were integrated in 2007 and 2006.
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
Chartered Accountants and Registered Auditors
London, United Kingdom
7th March 2008
Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm’s report
164 Barclays PLC Annual Report 2007