Barclays 2015 Annual Report Download - page 254

252 I Barclays PLC Annual Report 2015 home.barclays/annualreport
Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm’s report
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, 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 2015 and 31 December 2014, and the results of their
operations and their cash flows for each of the three years in the period
ended 31 December 2015 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 2015, based on criteria established in Internal Control -
Integrated Framework 2013 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 included in the Directors’ Report appearing on page
72 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 (US). 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, UK
29 February 2016