Marks and Spencer 1999 Annual Report Download - page 19

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MARKS AN D SPEN CER p.l.c.
REPO RT O F THE AUD ITO RS
AUDITORS’ REPORT TO THE MEMBERS OF
MARKS AND SPENCER p.l.c.
W e have audited the financial statements on pages • to • .
RESPECTIVE RESPONSIBILITIES OF DIRECTORS
AND AUDITORS
The directors are responsible for preparing the Annual Report,
including, as described on page • , the financial statements.
O ur responsibilities, as independent auditors, are established by
statute, the Auditing Practices Board, the Listing Rules of the
London Stock Exchange and our profession’s ethical guidance.
W e report to you our opinion as to whether the financial
statements give a true and fair view and are properly prepared in
accordance with the Companies Act.W e also report to you if, in
our opinion, the directors’ report is not consistent with the financial
statements, if the Company has not kept proper accounting records,
if we have not received all the information and explanations we
require for our audit, or if information specified by law or the
Listing Rules regarding directors’ remuneration and transactions is
not disclosed.
W e read the other information contained in the Annual Report
and consider the implications for our report if we become aware
of any apparent misstatements or material inconsistencies with the
financial statements.
W e review whether the statement on pages • and • reflects the
Company’s compliance with those provisions of the Combined Code
specified for our review by the London Stock Exchange, and we
report if it does not.
W e are not required to form an opinion on the effectiveness of
the Group’s corporate governance procedures or its internal controls.
BASIS OF AUDIT OPINION
W e conducted our audit in accordance with Auditing Standards issued
by the Auditing Practices Board.An audit includes examination, on a
test basis, of evidence relevant to the amounts and disclosures in the
financial statements. It also includes an assessment of the significant
estimates and judgements made by the directors in the preparation
of the financial statements, and of whether the accounting policies are
appropriate to the Company’s circumstances, consistently applied and
adequately disclosed.
W e planned and performed our audit so as to obtain all the
information and explanations which we considered necessary in
order to provide us with sufficient evidence to give reasonable
assurance that the financial statements are free from material
misstatement, whether caused by fraud or other irregularity or
error. In forming our opinion we also evaluated the overall adequacy
of the presentation of information in the financial statements.
OPINION
In our opinion the financial statements give a true and fair view of the
state of affairs of the Company and the Group at 31 March 2000 and
of the profit and cash flows of the Group for the year then ended and
have been properly prepared in accordance with the Companies
Act 1985.
PricewaterhouseCoopers
Chartered Accountants and Registered Auditors
London
• May 2000
ANNUAL REPORT AND FIN ANCIAL STATEMENTS 1999