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The board of directors is responsible for the group’s systems of internal control. To fulfill its responsibilities, management maintains accounting records and has developed, and continues to maintain, appropriate systems of internal control.
The group’s internal controls and systems are designed to provide reasonable, and not absolute assurance, as to the integrity and reliability of the annual financial statements and to safeguard, verify and maintain accountability of its assets and to detect and minimise significant fraud, potential liability, loss and material misstatement while complying with applicable laws and regulations.
The group has implemented a system of control self-assessment across all group companies. Local management is required to complete and submit control self–assessment programmes bi-annually. Local management is monitored against internal control norms in other group companies and action is taken when ratings are considered to be inadequate. It must be recognised that systems of internal control can provide only reasonable and not absolute assurance.
Internal audit is an independent appraisal function, which examines and evaluates the activities and the appropriateness of the systems of internal control, risk management and governance processes. This function is outsourced to specialist external service providers (KPMG).
The objective of internal audit is to assist the board in the effective discharge of its responsibilities.
Internal audit reports to the audit and risk committee and to the executive directors on day-to-day matters. Audit plans are presented in advance to the audit and risk committee and are based on an assessment of risk areas. Internal audit attend and present their findings to the audit and risk committee. A number of internal audits are conducted during a year period, with an internal audit plan approved whereby all material risk areas within the group will be reviewed over a 3-year period.
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last updated
01.03.2010
