Tesco 2004 Annual Report Download - page 27

TESCO PLC 25
INDEPENDENT AUDITORS’ REPORT TO THE MEMBERS OF TESCO PLC
We have audited the Þnancial statements which comprise the
Group proÞt and loss account, the balance sheets, the cash ßow
statement, the statement of total recognised gains and losses
and the related notes which have been prepared under the
historical cost convention and the accounting policies set out
in the statement of accounting policies. We have also audited
the disclosures required by Part 3 of Schedule 7A to the
Companies Act 1985 contained in the Directors remuneration
report (the auditable part).
RESPECTIVE RESPONSIBILITIES OF DIRECTORS AND AUDITORS
The Directors responsibilities for preparing the annual report,
the Directors remuneration report and the Þnancial statements
in accordance with applicable United Kingdom law and
accounting standards are set out in the statement of
Directors responsibilities.
Our responsibility is to audit the Þnancial statements and the
auditable part of the Directors remuneration report in
accordance with relevant legal and regulatory requirements and
United Kingdom Auditing Standards issued by the Auditing
Practices Board. 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 in to 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 Þnancial
statements give a true and fair view and whether the Þnancial
statements and the auditable part of the Directors remuneration
report 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 Þnancial
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
speciÞed by law regarding Directors remuneration and
transactions is not disclosed.
We read the other information contained in the annual report
and consider the implications for our report if we become
aware of any apparent misstatements or material inconsistencies
with the Þnancial statements. The other information comprises
only the Directors report, the unaudited part of the Directors
remuneration report, the Chairmans statement, the operating
and Þnancial review and the corporate governance statement.
We review whether the corporate governance statement reßects
the companys compliance with the seven provisions of the
Combined Code (issued in June 1998) speciÞed 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 to form an opinion on the effectiveness of the
companys or Groups corporate governance procedures or its
risk and control procedures.
BASIS OF AUDIT OPINION We conducted our audit in accordance
with auditing standards issued by the Auditing Practices Board.
An audit includes examination, on a test basis, of evidence
relevant to the amounts and disclosures in the Þnancial
statements and the auditable part of the Directors remuneration
report. It also includes an assessment of the signiÞcant estimates
and judgements made by the Directors in the preparation of
the Þnancial statements, and of whether the accounting policies
are appropriate to the companys circumstances, 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 sufÞcient evidence to give reasonable
assurance that the Þnancial statements and the auditable part
of the Directors remuneration report 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 Þnancial
statements.
OPINION In our opinion:
 the Þnancial statements give a true and fair view of the
state of affairs of the company and the Group at
28 February 2004 and of the proÞt and cash ßows of the
Group for the year then ended;
 the Þnancial statements have been properly prepared in
accordance with the Companies Act 1985; and
 those parts of the Directors remuneration report required
by Part 3 of Schedule 7A to the Companies Act 1985
have been properly prepared in accordance with the
Companies Act 1985.
PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP
Chartered Accountants and Registered Auditors
London 19 April 2004