Financial reporting

1. The audit committee should review, and report to the board and executive management on, the significant financial reporting issues and judgements made in connection with the preparation of the entity’s financial statements (having regard to matters communicated to it by the auditor), interim reports, preliminary announcements and related formal statements.
2. It is management’s, not the audit committee’s responsibility to prepare complete and accurate financial statements and disclosures in accordance with financial reporting standards and applicable rules and regulations. However the audit committee should consider significant accounting policies, any changes to them and any significant estimates and judgements. The management should inform the audit committee of the methods used to account for significant or unusual transactions where the accounting treatment is open to different approaches. Taking into account the external auditor’s view, the audit committee should consider whether the entity has adopted appropriate accounting policies and, where necessary, made appropriate estimates and judgements. The audit committee should review the clarity and completeness of disclosures in the financial statements and consider whether the disclosures made are set properly in context.
3. Where, following its review, the audit committee is not satisfied with any aspect of the proposed financial reporting by the entity, it shall report its views to the board and executive management.
4. The audit committee should review related information presented with the financial statements, including the business review, and corporate governance statements relating to the audit and to risk management. Similarly, where board approval is required for other statements containing financial information (for example, summary financial statements, significant financial returns to regulators and release of price sensitive information), whenever practicable the audit committee should review such statements first (without being inconsistent with any requirement for prompt reporting under the Listing Rules).