The responsibility of the Directors in relation to the Financial Statements of the Company and the Group is set out in the following statement. The responsibility of the independent auditors, in relation to the Financial Statements, prepared in accordance with the provisions of the Companies Act No. 07 of 2007 (‘the Act’) and SLFRS is set out in the Independent Auditors’ Report.
The Financial Statements comprise:
The Directors are required to ensure that, in preparing these Financial Statements:
The Directors are also required to ensure that the Company and the Group have adequate resources to continue in operation to justify applying the going concern basis in preparing these Financial Statements.
Further, the Directors have a responsibility to ensure that the Company maintains sufficient accounting records to disclose, with reasonable accuracy the financial position of the Company and of the Group and to ensure that the Financial Statements presented comply with the requirements of the Act.
The Directors are also responsible for taking reasonable steps to safeguard the assets of the Company and of the Group and in this regard to give proper consideration to the establishment of appropriate internal control systems with a view to preventing and detecting fraud and other irregularities.
The Internal Auditors have conducted periodic audits to provide reasonable assurance that the established policies and procedures of the Company were consistently followed. However, there are inherent limitations that should be recognised in weighing the assurances provided by any system of internal controls and accounting.
The Audit Committee of the Company meets periodically with the internal Auditors and the independent external auditors to review the manner in which these auditors are performing their responsibilities and to discuss auditing, internal control and financial reporting issues. To ensure complete independence, the Independent Auditors and the internal auditors have full and free access to the members of the Audit Committee to discuss any matter of substance.
The Directors are required to prepare the Financial Statements and to provide the independent external auditors with every opportunity to take whatever steps and undertake whatever inspections that they may consider to be appropriate to enable them to give the independent auditors‘ opinion.
The Directors are of the view that they have discharged their responsibilities as set out in this statement.
The Directors confirm that to the best of their knowledge, all taxes, duties and levies payable by the Company and its subsidiaries, all contributions, levies and taxes payable on behalf of and in respect of the employees of the Company and its subsidiaries, and all other known statutory dues as were due and payable by the Company and its subsidiaries as at the Reporting date have been paid or where relevant provided for, except as specified in Note 32 to the Financial Statements covering contingent liabilities.
By Order of the Board
Sri Lanka Telecom PLC
Mahesh Athukorale
Company Secretary
29 March 2016
Colombo