Unilever 2004 Annual Report Download - page 97

94 Unilever Annual Report and Accounts 2004
Auditors’ report
United Kingdom
Audit report of the independent auditors to the
shareholders of Unilever PLC
We have audited the accounts of the Unilever Group and Unilever
PLC which have been prepared under the historical cost
convention, set out on pages 96 to 148, 154 to 168 and 172 to
173. We have also audited the auditable part of the Directors’
Remuneration Report as set out on page 89.
Respective responsibilities of Directors and auditors
As described on page 92, the Directors are responsible
for preparing the Annual Report and Accounts. This includes
responsibility for preparing the accounts in accordance with
applicable United Kingdom law and United Kingdom accounting
standards. The Directors are also responsible for preparing the
Directors’ Remuneration Report.
Our responsibility is to audit the accounts and the auditable part
of the Directors’ Remuneration Report in accordance with relevant
legal and regulatory requirements and United Kingdom Auditing
Standards issued by the Auditing Practices Board. This report,
including the opinion, has been prepared for and only for the
shareholders of Unilever PLC, as a body in accordance with
Section 235 of the United Kingdom 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 accounts give a
true and fair view and are properly prepared in accordance with
the United Kingdom Companies Act 1985. We also report to you
whether the auditable part of the Directors’ Remuneration
Report is properly prepared in accordance with the applicable
requirements in the United Kingdom. We would also report to
you if, in our opinion, the Directors’ Report is not consistent with
the accounts, if proper accounting records have not been kept,
if we have not received all the information and explanations
we require for our audit, or if information specified by United
Kingdom law regarding Directors’ remuneration and transactions
is not disclosed.
We read the other information contained in the Annual Report
and Accounts and consider the implications for our audit report if
we become aware of any apparent misstatements or material
inconsistencies with the accounts.
We review whether the corporate governance statement on page
64 reflects the Group’s compliance with the nine provisions of the
2003 FRC Combined Code specified for our review by the Listing
Rules of the United Kingdom’s Financial Services Authority and we
report if it does not. We are not required to consider whether the
Directors’ statements on internal control cover all risks and
controls or to form an opinion on the effectiveness of the Group’s
corporate governance procedures or its risk and control
procedures.
Basis of audit opinion
We conducted our audit in accordance with auditing standards
issued by the Auditing Practices Board. An audit includes
an examination, on a test basis, of evidence relevant to the
amounts and disclosures in the accounts and the auditable part of
the Directors’ Remuneration Report. It also includes an assessment
of the significant estimates and judgements made by the
Directors in the preparation of the accounts, and of whether the
accounting policies are appropriate to the Group’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 accounts and the auditable part of the
Directors’ Remuneration Report 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 accounts and
the auditable part of the Directors’ Remuneration Report.
Opinion
In our opinion, the accounts give a true and fair view of the state
of affairs of the Unilever Group and Unilever PLC at 31 December
2004 and of the profit and cash flows of the Group for the year
then ended. In our opinion the accounts of the Unilever Group
and Unilever PLC have been properly prepared in accordance with
the United Kingdom Companies Act 1985. In our opinion, the
auditable part of the Directors’ Remuneration Report has been
properly prepared in accordance with the applicable requirements
in the United Kingdom.
PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP
Chartered Accountants and Registered Auditors
London, United Kingdom
1 March 2005