Statement of directors’ responsibilities in respect of the preparation of the accounts

Company law requires the directors to prepare accounts for each financial year which give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the Company and of the Group and of the profit or loss for that period. In preparing the accounts, the directors are required to:

• select suitable accounting policies and apply them consistently;
• make estimates and judgements which are reasonable and prudent; and
• state whether applicable accounting standards have been followed, subject to any material departures disclosed and explained in the accounts.

The directors are responsible for keeping proper accounting records which disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the Company and the Group and enable them to ensure that the accounts comply with the Companies Act 1985. They have general responsibility for taking such steps as are reasonably open to them to safeguard the assets of the Group and prevent and detect fraud and other irregularities. The directors have a reasonable expectation that the Group has adequate resources to continue in operational existence for the foreseeable future. For this reason, they continue to adopt the going concern basis in preparing the accounts.