HSBC 2010 Annual Report Download - page 236

HSBC HOLDINGS PLC
Statement of Directors’ Responsibilities
Statement
234
The following statement, which should be read in conjunction with the Auditor’s statement of their responsibilities
set out in their report on pages 235 and 236, is made with a view to distinguishing for shareholders the respective
responsibilities of the Directors and of the Auditor in relation to the financial statements. The Directors are
responsible for preparing the Annual Report, the consolidated financial statements of HSBC Holdings and its
subsidiaries (the ‘Group’) and holding company financial statements for HSBC Holdings (the ‘parent company’) in
accordance with applicable laws and regulations.
Company law requires the Directors to prepare Group and parent company financial statements for each
financial year. The Directors are required to prepare the Group financial statements in accordance with IFRSs as
adopted by the EU and have elected to prepare the parent company financial statements on the same basis.
The Group and parent company financial statements are required by law and IFRSs as adopted by the EU to
present fairly the financial position, the performance for that period and for IFRSs purposes the cash flows of the
Group and the parent company; the Companies Act 2006 provides in relation to such financial statements that
references in the relevant part of that Act to financial statements giving a true and fair view are references to their
achieving a fair presentation. In addition, in order to meet certain US requirements, HSBC is required to present its
financial statements in accordance with IFRSs as issued by the International Accounting Standards Board (‘IASB’).
Currently, there are no differences in application to HSBC between IFRSs endorsed by the EU and IFRSs issued by
the IASB.
In preparing each of the Group and parent company financial statements, the Directors are required to:
• select suitable accounting policies and then apply them consistently;
• make judgements and estimates that are reasonable and prudent; and
• state whether they have been prepared in accordance with IFRSs as adopted by the EU.
The Directors are required to prepare the financial statements on the going concern basis unless it is not
appropriate. Since the Directors are satisfied that the Group and parent company have the resources to continue in
business for the foreseeable future, the financial statements continue to be prepared on the going concern basis.
The Directors are responsible for keeping adequate accounting records that are sufficient to show and explain the
parent company’s transactions and disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the parent
company and enable them to ensure that its financial statements comply with the Companies Act 2006.
The Directors have general responsibility for taking such steps as are reasonably open to them to safeguard the
assets of the Group and to prevent and detect fraud and other irregularities. Under applicable law and regulations, the
Directors also have responsibility for preparing a Directors’ Report, Directors’ Remuneration Report and the
Corporate Governance statement on pages 183 to 233 that comply with that law and those regulations.
The Directors have responsibility for the maintenance and integrity of the Annual Report and Accounts as they
appear on the company’s website. Legislation in the UK governing the preparation and dissemination of financial
statements may differ from legislation in other jurisdictions.
The Directors, the names of whom are set out in the ‘Report of Directors: Governance’ section on page 189 of
this Annual Report, confirm to the best of their knowledge:
• in accordance with rule 4.1.12(3)(a) of the Disclosure Rules and Transparency Rules, the consolidated financial
statements, which have been prepared in accordance with IFRSs as issued by the IASB and as endorsed by the
EU, have been prepared in accordance with the applicable set of accounting standards and give a true and fair
view of the assets, liabilities, financial position and profit or loss of the Group and the undertakings included in
the consolidation taken as a whole; and
• the management report represented by the Report of the Directors has been prepared in accordance with rule
4.1.12(3)(b) of the Disclosure Rules and Transparency Rules, and includes a fair review of the development and
performance of the business and the position of the Group and the undertakings included in the consolidation
taken as a whole, together with a description of the principal risks and uncertainties that the Group faces.
On behalf of the Board
D J Flint
Group Chairman 28 February 2011