Barclays 2013 Annual Report Download - page 278

Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm
To the Board of Directors and Shareholders of Barclays PLC
In our opinion, the accompanying consolidated balance sheets and the
related consolidated income statements, consolidated statements of
comprehensive income and consolidated statements of changes in
equity, and consolidated cash flow statements present fairly, in all
material respects, the financial position of Barclays PLC and its
subsidiaries at 31 December 2013 and 1 January 2013, and the results
of their operations and their cash flows for each of the three years in
the period ended 31 December 2013 in conformity with International
Financial Reporting Standards 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 December 2013, based on criteria
established in Internal Control – Integrated Framework 1992 issued by
the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway
Commission (COSO). 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
report on internal control over financial reporting in the Directors’
Report appearing on page 81 of the Annual Report to Shareholders.
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.
As discussed in Notes 1 and 46, in 2013 the Company changed the
manner in which it assesses consolidation, due to the implementation
of IFRS 10: Consolidated Financial Statements; and the manner in
which it accounts for its employee benefits due to the implementation
of IAS 19 (revised): Employee Benefits, which resulted in the inclusion
of the January 1, 2012 balance sheet.
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
authorizations of management and directors of the company; and (iii)
provide reasonable assurance regarding prevention or timely detection
of unauthorized 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 Kingdon
3 March 2014
barclays.com/annualreport
276 Barclays PLC Annual Report 2013
Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm’s report