british american tobacco p.l.c. annual report 2008 - Responsibility of Directors

ANNUAL REPORT 2009

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Directors’ responsibilities in relation to the financial statements

The following statement sets out the responsibilities of the Directors in relation to the financial statements of both the Group and the Company. The reports of the independent auditors for the Group and the Company set out their responsibilities in relation to those financial statements.

Company law requires the Directors to prepare financial statements for each financial year which give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the Company and the Group as at the end of the financial year and of the profit or loss of the Group and the Company for the financial year. In preparing those financial statements, the Directors are required to:

• select appropriate accounting policies and apply them consistently;
     
• make judgments and estimates that are reasonable and prudent;
     
• state whether applicable accounting standards have been followed, subject to any material departures being disclosed and explained; and
     
• prepare the financial statements on the going concern basis, unless they consider that to be inappropriate.

The applicable accounting standards referred to above are: (a) United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (UK GAAP) for the Company; and (b) International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) as adopted by the European Union and implemented in the UK for the Group.

The Directors are responsible for ensuring that the Company keeps sufficient accounting records to disclose with reasonable accuracy the financial position of the Company and the Group and to enable them to ensure that the Group financial statements comply with the Companies Act 2006 and Article 4 of the IAS Regulation, and that the Company financial statements and the Directors’ Remuneration report comply with the Companies Act 2006. They are also responsible for taking reasonable steps to safeguard the assets of the Company and the Group and, in that context, having proper regard to the establishment of appropriate systems of internal control with a view to the prevention and detection of fraud and other irregularities.

The Directors are required to prepare financial statements and to provide the auditors with every opportunity to take whatever steps and undertake whatever inspections the auditors consider to be appropriate for the purpose of enabling them to give their audit report.

The Directors are responsible for the maintenance and integrity of the Annual Report on www.bat.com  in accordance with the UK legislation governing the preparation and dissemination of financial statements. Access to the website is available from outside the UK, where comparable legislation may be different.

The Directors consider that they have pursued the actions necessary to meet their responsibilities as set out in this statement.

Directors’ declaration in relation to relevant audit information

Having made enquiries of fellow Directors and of the Company’s auditors, each of the Directors confirms that:

• to the best of his or her knowledge and belief, there is no relevant audit information of which the Company’s auditors are unaware; and
     
• he or she has taken all steps that a Director might reasonably be expected to have taken in order to make himself or herself aware of relevant audit information and to establish that the Company’s auditors are aware of that information.

Directors’ responsibility statement

The Directors confirm to the best of their knowledge and belief that:

• the financial statements, prepared in accordance with IFRS, as adopted by the European Union, give a true and fair view of the assets, liabilities, financial position and profit or loss of the Company and the Group; and
     
• the Directors’ report (which incorporates the Business review) includes a fair review of the development and performance of the business and the position of the Group and the Company, together with a description of the principal risks and uncertainties that they face.

The names of the Directors are listed in this Directors’ report and their details appear on the Board of Directors page.

Neither the Company nor the Directors accept any liability to any person in relation to this Annual Report except to the extent that such liability could arise under English law. Accordingly, any liability to a person who has demonstrated reliance on any untrue or misleading statement or omission shall be determined in accordance with section 90A of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000.

The responsibility statement was approved by the Board of Directors on 24 February 2010 and signed on its behalf by:

Richard Burrows 
Chairman

Ben Stevens
Finance Director