Unilever 2011 Annual Report Download - page 64

61
STATEMENT OF DIRECTORS’ RESPONSIBILITIES
Annual accounts
The Directors are required by Part 9 of Book 2 of the CivilCode in
the Netherlands and the United Kingdom Companies Act 2006 to
prepare accounts for each financial year which give a true and fair
view of the state of affairs ofthe Unilever Group, and the NV and
PLC entities, as at the end of the financial year and of the profit or
loss and cash flows for that year.
The Directors consider that, in preparing the accounts, theGroup
and the NV and PLC entities have used the most appropriate
accounting policies, consistently applied and supported by
reasonable and prudent judgements and estimates, and thatall
International Financial Reporting Standards as adopted by the EU
andas issued by the International Accounting Standards Board
(inthecase of the consolidated financial statements), United
Kingdom accounting standards (in the case of the parent company
accounts) and Dutch law (in the case of the NV parent company
accounts) which they consider to be applicable have been
followed.
The Directors have responsibility for ensuring that NV and PLC
keep accounting records which disclose with reasonable accuracy
their financial position and which enable the Directors to ensure
that the accounts comply with the relevant legislation. They also
have a 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.
This statement, which should be read in conjunction with the
Auditors’ reports, ismade with a view to distinguishing for
shareholders the respective responsibilities of the Directors
andoftheauditors in relation to the accounts.
A copy of the financial statements of the Unilever Group is
placedonour website at www.unilever.com/investorrelations. The
maintenance and integrity of the website are the responsibility of
the Directors, and the work carried out by the auditors does not
involve consideration of these matters. Accordingly, the auditors
accept no responsibility for any changes that may have occurred
to the financial statements since they were initially placed on the
website. Legislation in the United Kingdom and the Netherlands
governing the preparation and dissemination of financial
statements may differ from legislation in other jurisdictions.
UK law sets out additional responsibilities for the Directors of PLC
regarding disclosure of information to auditors. Disclosure in
respect of these responsibilities is made on page 122.
Directors’ responsibility statement
Each of the Directors confirms that, to the best of his or her
knowledge:
• The financial statements which have been prepared in
accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards
as adopted by the EU and as issued by the International
Accounting Standards Board (in the case of the consolidated
financial statements) and United Kingdom accounting
standards (in the case of the PLC parent company accounts)
and United Kingdom accounting standards and Part 9 ofBook
2 of the Dutch Civil Code (in the case of the NV parent company
accounts), give a true and fair view of the assets, liabilities,
financial position and profit or loss of the Group and theNV and
PLC entities taken as a whole; and
• The Report of the Directors includes a fair review of the
development and performance of the business and the position
ofthe Group and the NV and the PLC entities taken as a whole,
together with a description of the principal risks and
uncertainties they face.
The Directors and their roles are listed on pages 34 and 40.
Going concern
The activities of the Group, together with the factors likely to affect
its future development, performance, the financial position of the
Group, its cash flows, liquidity position and borrowing facilities
are described inAbout Unilever and the Financial review 2011 on
pages 1 to 27. In addition, we describe in note 16 on pages 93 to 99:
the Group’s objectives, policies and processes for managing its
capital; its financial risk management objectives; details of its
financial instruments and hedging activities; and its exposures to
credit and liquidity risk.
The Group has considerable financial resources together with
established business relationships with many customers and
suppliers in countries throughout the world. As a consequence,
the Directors believe that the Group is well placed to manage its
business risks successfully despite the current uncertain outlook.
After making enquiries, the Directors have a reasonable
expectation that the Group has adequate resources to continue in
operational existence for the foreseeable future. Accordingly, they
continue to adopt the going concern basis in preparing the Annual
Report andAccounts.
Internal and disclosure controls and procedures
Please refer to pages 28 to 32 for a discussion of Unilever’s
principal risk factors and to page 33 for commentary on the
Group’s approach to risk management and control.
Unilever Annual Report and Accounts 2011
Financial statements