Marks and Spencer 2008 Annual Report Download - page 58

56 MARKS AND SPENCER GROUP PLC
Auditors’ report
Independent auditors report to the members of
Marks and Spencer Group plc
We have audited the group and parent company financial
statements (the ‘financial statements’) of Marks and Spencer
Group plc for the year ended 29 March 2008 which comprise
the Consolidated and Company income statements, the
Consolidated and Company balance sheets, the Consolidated
and Company cash flow statements, the Consolidated
statement of recognised income and expense, the Company
statement of changes in shareholders’ equity and the
related group and parent company notes. These financial
statements have been prepared under the accounting policies
set out therein. We have also audited the information in the
Remuneration report that is described as having been audited.
Respective responsibilities of directors and auditors
The directors’ responsibilities for preparing the Annual report,
the Remuneration report and the financial statements in
accordance with applicable law and International Financial
Reporting Standards (IFRSs) as adopted by the European
Union are set out in the Statement of Directors’ Responsibilities.
Our responsibility is to audit the financial statements
and the part of the Remuneration report to be audited in
accordance with relevant legal and regulatory requirements
and International Standards on Auditing (UK and Ireland).
This report, including the opinion, has been prepared for and
only for the Company’s members as a body in accordance
with Section 235 of the Companies Act 1985 and for no other
purpose. We do not, in giving this opinion, accept or assume
responsibility for any other purpose or to any other person to
whom this report is shown or into whose hands it may come
save where expressly agreed by our prior consent in writing.
We report to you our opinion as to whether the financial
statements give a true and fair view and whether the financial
statements and the part of the Remuneration report to be
audited have been properly prepared in accordance with
the Companies Act 1985 and, as regards the Group financial
statements, Article 4 of the IAS Regulation. We also report to
you whether in our opinion the information given in the Group
Directors’ report is consistent with the financial statements.
The information given in the Group Directors’ report includes
that specific information presented in Key performance
indicators and Business review that is cross referred from
the Business review section of the Group Directors’ report.
In addition we report to you if, in our opinion, 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 regarding directors’ remuneration
and other transactions is not disclosed.
We review whether the Corporate governance statement
reflects the Company’s compliance with the nine provisions
of the Combined Code (2006) specified for our review by
the Listing Rules of the Financial Services Authority, and we
report if it does not. We are not required to consider whether
the Board’s statements on internal control cover all risks
and controls, or form an opinion on the effectiveness of the
Group’s corporate governance procedures or its risk and
control procedures.
We read other information contained in the Annual report
and consider whether it is consistent with the audited
financial statements. The other information comprises
only the Key performance indicators, the Business review,
the Financial review, the Corporate governance statement,
the unaudited part of the Remuneration report, the Group
financial record and the Shareholder information. We consider
the implications for our report if we become aware of any
apparent misstatements or material inconsistencies with
the financial statements. Our responsibilities do not extend
to any other information.
Basis of audit opinion
We conducted our audit in accordance with International
Standards on Auditing (UK and Ireland) 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 and the part of the Remuneration
report to be audited. It also includes an assessment of the
significant estimates and judgments made by the directors
in the preparation of the financial statements, and of whether
the accounting policies are appropriate to the Group’s and
Company’s circumstances, consistently applied and
adequately disclosed.
We 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
and the part of the Remuneration report to be audited 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 and the part of the
Remuneration report to be audited.
Opinion
In our opinion:
• the financial statements give a true and fair view, in
accordance with IFRSs as adopted by the European Union,
of the state of the Group’s and the Parent Company’s affairs
as at 29 March 2008 and of the Group’s and the Parent
Company’s profit and cash flows for the year then ended;
• the financial statements and the part of the Remuneration
report to be audited have been properly prepared in
accordance with the Companies Act 1985 and, as
regards the group financial statements, Article 4 of the
IAS Regulation; and
• the information given in the Group Directors’ report
is consistent with the financial statements.
PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP
Chartered Accountants and Registered Auditors
London
19 May 2008