Independent Auditors' Report
to the Members of The BSS Group plc
We have audited the Group financial statements of The BSS Group plc for the year ended 31 March 2010 which comprise the Consolidated Income Statement, the Consolidated Statement of Comprehensive Income, the Consolidated Statement of Changes in Equity, the Consolidated Balance Sheet, the Consolidated Cash Flow Statement, the Statement of Accounting Policies and the related notes. The financial reporting framework that has been applied in their preparation is applicable law and International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRSs) as adopted by the European Union.
Respective responsibilities of Directors and auditors
As explained more fully in the Statement of Directors' Responsibilities, the Directors are responsible for the preparation of the Group financial statements and for being satisfied that they give a true and fair view. Our responsibility is to audit the Group financial statements in accordance with applicable law and International Standards on Auditing (UK and Ireland). Those standards require us to comply with the Auditing Practices Board’s Ethical Standards for Auditors.
This report, including the opinions, has been prepared for and only for the Company’s members as a body in accordance with Chapter 3 of Part 16 of the Companies Act 2006 and for no other purpose. We do not, in giving these opinions, 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.
Scope of the audit of the financial statements
An audit involves obtaining evidence about the amounts and disclosures in the financial statements sufficient to give reasonable assurance that the financial statements are free from material misstatement, whether caused by fraud or error. This includes an assessment of: whether the accounting policies are appropriate to the Group’s circumstances and have been consistently applied and adequately disclosed; the reasonableness of significant accounting estimates made by the Directors; and the overall presentation of the financial statements.
Opinion on financial statements
In our opinion the Group financial statements:
- Give a true and fair view of the state of the Group’s affairs as at 31 March 2010 and of its profit and cash flows for the year then ended;
- Have been properly prepared in accordance with IFRSs as adopted by the European Union; and
- Have been prepared in accordance with the requirements of the Companies Act 2006 and Article 4 of the lAS Regulation.
Opinion on other matters prescribed by the Companies Act 2006
In our opinion:
- The information given in the Report of the Directors for the financial year for which the Group financial statements are prepared is consistent with the Group financial statements; and
- The information given in the Combined Code Principles of Good Governance with respect to internal control and risk management systems and about share capital structures is consistent with the financial statements.
Matters on which we are required to report by exception
We have nothing to report in respect of the following:
Under the Companies Act 2006 we are required to report to you if, in our opinion:
- Certain disclosures of Directors’ remuneration specified by law are not made; or
- We have not received all the information and explanations we require for our audit; or
- A Corporate Governance Statement has not been prepared by the Parent Company.
Under the Listing Rules we are required to review:
- The Directors’ statement, set out on The Combined Code Principles of Good Governance, in relation to going concern; and
- The part of the Corporate Governance Statement relating to the Company’s compliance with the nine provisions of the June 2008 Combined Code specified for our review.
Other matter
We have reported separately on the Parent Company financial statements of The BSS Group plc for the year ended 31 March 2010 and on the information in the Report of the Remuneration Committee that is described as having been audited.
Mark L Smith (Senior Statutory Auditor)
for and on behalf of PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP
Chartered Accountants and Statutory Auditors
East Midlands
25 May 2010
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