Annual Report - SABMiller

68 Statement of directors’ responsibilities SABMiller plc Annual Report 2010Statement of directors’ responsibilitiesin respect of the consolidated financial statementsThe directors are responsible for preparing the consolidated financialstatements in accordance with applicable law and regulations.Company law requires the directors to prepare consolidated financialstatements for each financial year. The directors have prepared theconsolidated financial statements in accordance with InternationalFinancial Reporting Standards (IFRSs) as adopted by the EuropeanUnion. The consolidated financial statements are required by law togive a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the group and of theprofit or loss of the group for that year.In preparing those financial statements, the directors are required to:■ select suitable accounting policies and then apply them consistently;■ make judgements and estimates that are reasonable and prudent;■ state that the financial statements comply with IFRSs as adoptedby the European Union; and■ prepare the consolidated financial statements on the going concernbasis, unless it is inappropriate to presume that the group will continuein business, in which case there should be supporting assumptionsor qualifications as necessary.The directors confirm that they have complied with the aboverequirements in preparing the financial statements.The directors are responsible for keeping adequate accounting recordsthat disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial positionof the group and to enable them to ensure that the consolidatedfinancial statements comply with the Companies Act 2006 and Article4 of the IAS Regulation. They are also responsible for safeguardingthe assets of the group and hence for taking reasonable steps forthe prevention and detection of fraud and other irregularities.Each of the directors, whose names and functions are listed in theGovernance section of the Annual Report, confirms that, to the bestof their knowledge:■ the consolidated financial statements, which have been preparedin accordance with IFRSs as adopted by the EU, give a true andfair view of the assets, liabilities, financial position and profit of thegroup; and■ the directors’ report contained in the Governance section ofthe Annual Report includes a fair review of the developmentand performance of the business and the position of the group,together with a description of the principal risks and uncertaintiesthat it faces.In addition, the Companies Act 2006 requires directors to provide thegroup’s auditors with every opportunity to take whatever steps andundertake whatever inspections the auditors consider to be appropriatefor the purpose of enabling them to give their audit report. Each of thedirectors, having made appropriate enquiries, confirms that:■ so far as the director is aware, there is no relevant audit informationof which the group’s auditors are unaware; and■ each director has taken all the steps that they ought to have takenas a director in order to make themselves aware of any relevantaudit information and to establish that the group’s auditors areaware of that information.The directors have reviewed the group’s budget and cash flowforecasts. On the basis of this review, and in the light of the currentfinancial position and existing borrowing facilities, the directors aresatisfied that SABMiller plc is a going concern and have continued toadopt the going concern basis in preparing the financial statements.A copy of the financial statements of the group is placed on thecompany’s website. The directors are responsible for the maintenanceand integrity of statutory and audited information on the company’swebsite. Information published on the internet is accessible in manycountries with different legal requirements. Legislation in the UnitedKingdom governing the preparation and dissemination of financialstatements may differ from legislation in other jurisdictions.