Download full Annual Report and Accounts - Kingfisher

54
The Audit Committee is appointed by the Board from the non-executive
directors of the Company. The terms of reference are regularly reviewed
by the Audit Committee and are then referred to the Board for approval.
These are available at www.kingfi sher.com.
During the year, the Chairman of the Committee was Phil Bentley.
Full details of Committee membership is set out on page 38. Details of
the qualifi cations of Committee members, the number and attendance
of Committee meetings are set on pages 29 and 36 respectively.
All members of the Committee receive appropriate induction, which is
in addition to the induction which all new directors receive. The induction
programme covers an overview of the business, its fi nancial dynamics
and risks. New Committee members also obtain access to its operations
and staff, and all members of the Committee may undertake ongoing
training as required.
The Audit Committee has an agenda linked to events in the Group’s
fi nancial calendar. At the invitation of the Committee, the Chairman of
the Board and the Group Chief Executive regularly attended meetings,
as did the Group Finance Director, Audit and Risk Management Director,
Group Financial Controller and the external auditors. Private meetings
were also held with the external and internal auditors at which
management were not present.
A summary of the role of the Audit Committee is set out on page 38.
During the year ended 30 January 2010, the Committee:
– agreed the terms, areas of responsibility and scope of the audit work
to be undertaken by the external auditors and agreed a programme
of work for the Company’s Internal Audit function;
– considered the Internal Audit function’s reports on the effectiveness
of internal controls, signifi cant frauds and any fraud that involved
management or employees with a signifi cant role in internal controls;
– monitored progress on the programme announced during 2008/09
to standardise and improve control processes in a number of
key areas including the B&Q China business unit and IT systems;
–
–
–
Audit Committee report
received reports from the external auditors on their fi ndings including
any control observations relevant to their audit work;
reviewed the annual and interim fi nancial statements, together with
the reports received from the external auditors on their audits;
considered regular reports on the output from the Group-wide
process used to identify, evaluate and mitigate risks;
Kingfi sher plc
Annual Report
and Accounts
2009/10
– reviewed and approved the scope of non-audit services provided by
the auditors to ensure that there was no impairment of independence
and objectivity, and subsequently monitored the non-audit work
performed to ensure it was within policy guidelines;
–
–
received presentations from the senior management of all operating
companies and certain key Group functions;
undertook the annual review of the Committee’s effectiveness;
– reviewed and updated the policy and process enabling employees
within the Group to make confi dential disclosures about suspected
fi nancial and operational improprieties;
and in particular the Committee:
– reviewed the services of the external auditor,
PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, and following a tender process,
recommended the appointment of Deloitte LLP to serve as the
Company’s auditor. The review included an assessment of the
qualifi cations, expertise and resources of the external auditors.
As a result of its work during the year, the Audit Committee has
concluded that it has acted in accordance with its terms of reference
and has ensured the independence and objectivity of the external
auditors.
After seven years on the Board, Phil Bentley retired as a non-executive
director on 17 March 2010 and the Committee thanks Phil for his
invaluable contribution over these years. Andrew Bonfi eld, who joined
the Board as a non-executive director on 11 February 2010 has
succeeded Phil Bentley as Chairman of the Committee. Both Phil
Bentley and Andrew Bonfi eld are chartered accountants and have
recent and relevant fi nancial experience.
The Chairman of the Audit Committee will be available at the
Annual General Meeting to answer any questions about the work
of the Committee.
For and on behalf of the Audit Committee
Phil Bentley
Chairman of the Audit Committee
24 March 2010