Holiday Inn 2014 Annual Report Download - page 96

Financial Statements and accounting records
The Directors are required to prepare financial statements for
the Company and the Group at the end of each financial year
in accordance with all applicable laws and regulations. Under
company law the Directors must not approve the Financial
Statements unless they are satisfied that they give a true and fair
view of the state of affairs of the Group and the profit or loss of the
Group for that period. In preparing these Financial Statements,
theDirectors are required to:
• select suitable accounting policies and apply them consistently;
• make judgements and accounting estimates that are
reasonable;
• state whether the Consolidated Financial Statements have
been prepared in accordance with International Financial
Reporting Standards (IFRS) as issued by the International
Accounting Standards Board (IASB), for use in the EU and
Article 4 of the EU IAS Regulation;
• state for the Company Financial Statements whether applicable
UK accounting standards have been followed; and
• prepare the Financial Statements on the going concern basis
unless it is inappropriate to presume that the Company and
the Group will continue in business.
The Directors have responsibility for ensuring that the Group
keeps proper accounting records which disclose with reasonable
accuracy the financial position of the Group and the Company
to enable them to ensure that the Financial Statements comply
with the Companies Act 2006 and, as regards the Consolidated
Financial Statements, Article 4 of the EU IAS Regulation. The
Directors are also responsible for the system of internal control,
for safeguarding the assets of the Company and the Group, and
taking reasonable steps toprevent and detect fraud and other
irregularities.
Disclosure and Transparency Rules
The Board confirms that to the best of its knowledge:
• the Financial Statements have been prepared in accordance
with IFRS as issued by the IASB and IFRS as adopted by the
EU, give a true and fair view of the assets, liabilities, financial
position and profit and loss of the Group taken as a whole; and
• the Annual Report, including the Strategic Report, includes a
fair review of the development and performance of the business
and the position of the Group taken as a whole, together with a
description of the principal risks and uncertainties that it faces.
UK Corporate Governance Code
Having taken advice from the Audit Committee, the Board
considers that this Annual Report and Form 20-F, taken as a
whole is fair, balanced and understandable and that it provides
the information necessary for shareholders to assess the
Company’s performance, business model and strategy.
Disclosure of information to Auditor
The Directors who held office as at the date of approval of this
report confirm that they have taken steps to make themselves
aware of relevant audit information (as defined by Section 418(3)
of the Companies Act 2006). None of the Directors are aware
of any relevant audit information which has not been disclosed
to the Company’s Auditor.
Management’s report on internal control over
financialreporting
Management is responsible for establishing and maintaining
adequate internal control over financial reporting for the Group,
asdefined in Rule 13a-15(f) and 15d-15(f) under the Securities
Exchange Act of 1934 as 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 IFRS. The Group’s internal control over financial
reporting includes policies and procedures that:
• pertain to the maintenance of records that, in reasonable detail,
accurately and fairly reflect the Group’s transactions and
dispositions of assets;
• are designed to provide reasonable assurance that transactions
are recorded as necessary to permit the preparation of the
Financial Statements in accordance with IFRS as issued by
the IASB and the IFRS adopted by the EU, and that receipts
and expenditure are being made only in accordance with
authorisation of management and the Directors of the
Company; and
• provide reasonable assurance regarding prevention or timely
detection of unauthorised acquisition, use or disposition of
the Group’s assets that could have a material effect on the
FinancialStatements.
Any internal control framework has inherent limitations and
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 the degree of
compliance with the policies or procedures may deteriorate.
Management has undertaken an assessment of the
effectiveness ofthe Group’s internal control over financial
reporting at 31 December 2014 based on criteria established
in the Internal Control-Integrated Framework issued by
the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway
Commission (2013 Framework) (the COSO criteria). Based
on this assessment, management has concluded that as at
31 December 2014 the Group’s internal control over financial
reporting was effective.
During the period covered by this document the Group transitioned
from the 1992 to the 2013 Internal Control-Integrated Framework
criteria issued by COSO. There were no other changes in the
Group’s internal control over financial reporting that have
materially affected or are reasonably likely to materially affect
the effectiveness of the internal controls over financial reporting.
The Group’s internal control over financial reporting at
31December 2014, together with the Group’s Consolidated
Financial Statements, were audited by Ernst & Young LLP, an
independent registered public accounting firm. Their report
on internal control overfinancial reporting can be found on
page 99.
For and on behalf of the Board
Richard Solomons Paul Edgecliffe-Johnson
Chief Executive Officer Chief Financial Officer
16 February 2015 16 February 2015
IHG Annual Report and Form 20-F 2014
94
Statement of Directors’ Responsibilities