We have audited the Group Financial Statements of British American Tobacco p.l.c. for the year ended 31 December 2006 which comprise the Group income statement, the Group statement of changes in total equity, the Group balance sheet, the Group cash flow statement, and the related notes including the principal subsidiary undertakings and the principal associate undertakings. These Group financial statements have been prepared under the accounting policies set out therein.
We have reported separately on the parent Company financial statements of British American Tobacco p.l.c. for the year ended 31 December 2006 and on the information in the Remuneration Report that is described as having been audited.
Our responsibility is to audit the Group Financial Statements in accordance with relevant legal and regulatory requirements and International Standards on Auditing (UK and Ireland). This report, including the opinion, has been prepared for and only for the Company’s members as a body in accordance with Section 235 of the Companies Act 1985 and for no other purpose. We do not, in giving this opinion, 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.
We report to you our opinion as to whether the Group Financial Statements give a true and fair view and whether the Group Financial Statements have been properly prepared in accordance with the Companies Act 1985 and Article 4 of the IAS Regulation. We also report to you whether, in our opinion, the information given in the Directors’ Report is consistent with the Group Financial Statements. The information given in the Directors’ Report includes that specific information presented in the Operating and Financial Review that is cross referred from the Business review section of the Directors’ Report.
In addition, we report to you if, in our opinion, we have not received all the information and explanations we require for our audit, or if information specified by law regarding Directors’ remuneration and other transactions is not disclosed.
We review whether the Corporate Governance Statement reflects the Company’s compliance with the nine provisions of the Combined Code 2003 specified for our review by the Listing Rules of the Financial Services Authority, and we report if it does not. We are not required to consider whether the Board’s statements on internal control cover all risks and controls, or form an opinion on the effectiveness of the Group’s corporate governance procedures or its risk and control procedures.
We read other information contained in the Annual Report and Accounts and consider whether it is consistent with the audited Group Financial Statements. The other information comprises only the Annual Review, the Directors’ Report, the Remuneration Report, the Corporate Governance Statement, the five year summary, the quarterly analyses of profit and the parent company Financial Statements. We consider the implications for our report if we become aware of any apparent misstatements or material inconsistencies with the Group Financial Statements. Our responsibilities do not extend to any other information.
We planned and performed our audit so as to obtain all the information and explanations which we considered necessary in order to provide us with sufficient evidence to give reasonable assurance that the Group Financial Statements are free from material misstatement, whether caused by fraud or other irregularity or error. In forming our opinion, we also evaluated the overall adequacy of the presentation of information in the Group Financial Statements.
PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP
Chartered Accountants and Registered Auditors1 Embankment Place, London
1 March 2007