RBS 2003 Annual Report Download - page 138

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We have audited the financial statements of The Royal Bank of
Scotland Group plc ("the company") and its subsidiaries
(together "the Group") for the year ended 31 December 2003
which comprise the accounting policies, the profit and loss
account, the balance sheets, the cash flow statement, the
statement of total recognised gains and losses, the
reconciliation of movements in shareholders’ funds and the
related notes 1 to 54. These financial statements have been
prepared under the accounting policies set out therein. We
have also audited the information in the part of the directors’
remuneration report that is described as having been audited.
This report is made solely to the company’s members, as a
body, in accordance with section 235 of the Companies Act
1985. Our audit work has been undertaken so that we might
state to the company’s members those matters we are
required to state to them in an auditors’ report and for no other
purpose. To the fullest extent permitted by law, we do not
accept or assume responsibility to anyone other than the
company and the company’s members as a body, for our audit
work, for this report, or for the opinions we have formed.
Respective responsibilities of directors and auditors
As described in the ‘Statement of directors’ responsibilities’,
the company’s directors are responsible for the preparation of
the financial statements in accordance with applicable United
Kingdom law and accounting standards. They are also
responsible for the preparation of the other information
contained in the 2003 Annual Report including the directors’
remuneration report. Our responsibility is to audit the financial
statements and the part of the directors’ remuneration report
described as having been audited in accordance with relevant
United Kingdom legal and regulatory requirements and
auditing standards.
We report to you our opinion as to whether the financial
statements give a true and fair view and whether the financial
statements and the part of the directors’ remuneration report
described as having been audited have been properly
prepared in accordance with the Companies Act 1985. We
also report to you if, in our opinion, the directors’ report is not
consistent with the financial statements, if the company has not
kept proper accounting records, if we have not received all the
information and explanations we require for our audit, or if
information specified by law regarding directors’ remuneration
and transactions with the company and other members of the
Group is not disclosed.
We review whether the corporate governance statement
reflects the company's compliance with the seven provisions of
the Combined Code 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 the directors’ report and the other information
contained in the 2003 Annual Report as described in the
contents section including the unaudited part of the directors’
remuneration report and consider the implications for our
report if we become aware of any apparent misstatements or
material inconsistencies with the financial statements.
Basis of audit opinion
We conducted our audit in accordance with United Kingdom
auditing standards issued by the Auditing Practices Board and
with generally accepted auditing standards in the United
States of America. An audit includes examination, on a test
basis, of evidence relevant to the amounts and disclosures in
the financial statements and the part of the directors’
remuneration report described as having been audited. It also
includes an assessment of the significant estimates and
judgements made by the directors in the preparation of the
financial statements and of whether the accounting policies
are appropriate to the circumstances of the company and the
Group, consistently applied and adequately disclosed.
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 financial statements and the
part of the directors’ remuneration report described as having
been audited 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 financial statements and the
part of the directors’ remuneration report described as having
been audited.
UK opinion
In our opinion the financial statements give a true and fair view
of the state of affairs of the company and the Group as at 31
December 2003 and of the profit and cash flows of the Group
for the year then ended and the financial statements and the
part of the directors’ remuneration report described as having
been audited have been properly prepared in accordance with
the Companies Act 1985.
US opinion
In our opinion, the financial statements present fairly, in all
material respects, the financial position of the Group as at 31
December 2003 and 2002 and the results of its operations and
its cash flows for each of the three years in the period ended
31 December 2003 in conformity with accounting principles
generally accepted in the United Kingdom.
Accounting principles generally accepted in the United
Kingdom vary in certain significant respects from accounting
principles generally accepted in the United States of America.
The application of the latter would have affected the
determination of net income for each of the three years in the
period ended 31 December 2003 and the determination of
shareholders’ equity as at 31 December 2003 and 2002, to the
extent summarised in Note 53 to the financial statements.
Deloitte & Touche LLP
Chartered Accountants and Registered Auditors
Edinburgh
18 February 2004
Independent auditors’ report to the members of The Royal Bank of Scotland Group plc
Independent auditors’ report to the members of The Royal Bank of Scotland Group plc
Neither an audit nor a review provides assurance on the maintenance and integrity of the website, including controls used to achieve this, and in particular on whether any
changes may have occurred to the financial statements as shown on the website since they were initially made available. These matters are the responsibility of the directors
but no control procedures can provide absolute assurance in this area.
Legislation in the United Kingdom governing the preparation and dissemination of financial statements differs from legislation in other jurisdictions.