145
Annual Report and Accounts 2014
STATEMENT OF DIRECTORS’ RESPONSIBILITIES
Statement of directors’ responsibilities in respect of the Annual Report
and the financial statements.
The directors are responsible for preparing the Annual Report, which includes
the Directors’ Report, Remuneration Report and Corporate Governance
Statement, and the Group and Parent Company financial statements in
accordance with applicable law and regulations.
Company law requires the directors to prepare Group and Parent Company
financial statements for each financial year. Under that law the directors are
required to prepare the Group financial statements in accordance with those
International Financial Reporting Standards as adopted by the European
Union. Under company law the directors must not approve the Group financial
statements unless they are satisfied that they present fairly the financial position,
financial performance and cash flows of the Group for that period. In preparing
those Group financial statements, the directors are required to:
• select suitable accounting policies in accordance with IAS8
‘Accounting
Policies, Changes in Accounting Estimates and Errors’
and then apply them
consistently;
• make judgements and estimates that are reasonable;
• present information, including accounting policies, in a manner that provides
relevant, reliable, comparable and understandable information;
• provide additional disclosures when compliance with the specific requirements
in IFRSs is insufficient to enable users to understand the impact of particular
transactions, other events and conditions on the Group’s financial position
and financial performance; and
• state that the Company has complied with IFRSs as adopted by the European
Union, subject to any material departures disclosed and explained in the
financial statements.
The directors have elected to prepare the Parent Company financial statements
in accordance with United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice
(United Kingdom Accounting Standards and applicable law). Under company law
the directors must not approve the Parent Company financial statements unless
they are satisfied that they give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the
Company and of the profit or loss of the Company for that period. In preparing
the Parent Company financial statements, the directors are required to:
• select suitable accounting policies and then apply them consistently;
• make judgements and estimates that are reasonable;
• state whether applicable United Kingdom Accounting Standards have been
followed, subject to any material departures disclosed and explained in the
financial statements; and
• prepare the financial statements on the going concern basis unless it is
inappropriate to presume that the Company will continue in business.
The directors are responsible for keeping adequate accounting records that
are sufficient to show and explain the Company’s transactions and disclose
with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the Group and
the Parent Company and enable them to ensure that the Group and Parent
Company financial statements comply with the Companies Act 2006 and
Article 4 of the IAS Regulation as appropriate. They are also responsible for
safeguarding the assets of the Group and the Parent Company and hence
for taking reasonable steps for the prevention and detection of fraud and
other irregularities.
The directors are responsible for the maintenance and integrity of the corporate
and financial information included on the Company’s website. Legislation in
the United Kingdom governing the preparation and dissemination of financial
statements may differ from legislation in other jurisdictions.
Directors’ responsibility statement under the Disclosure and
Transparency Rules
Each of the directors listed on pages 44 and 45 confirms that:
• the Group and Parent Company financial statements in this Annual Report,
which have been prepared in accordance with applicable UK law and with
the applicable set of accounting standards, give a true and fair view of the
assets, liabilities, financial position and profit of the Group; and
• the Annual Report (which includes the Directors’ Report and the Strategic
Report) includes a fair review of the development and performance of the
business and the position of the Company and the Group taken as a whole,
together with a description of the principal risks and uncertainties that
they face.
The directors are responsible for preparing the Annual Report in accordance
with applicable laws and regulations. Having taken advice from the Audit
Committee, the Board considers the Report and Accounts, taken as a whole,
to be fair, balanced and understandable and that it provides the information
necessary for shareholders to assess the Group’s performance, business
model and strategy.
By order of the Board
John O’Shea
Company Secretary
26 February 2015
