We have audited the consolidated financial statements of Standard Life plc for the year ended 31 December 2008 which comprise the Consolidated income statement, the Consolidated balance sheet, the Consolidated statement of recognised income and expense, the Consolidated cash flow statement, the accounting policies and the related notes. These Consolidated financial statements have been prepared under the accounting policies set out therein.
We have reported separately on the Company financial statements of Standard Life plc for the year ended 31 December 2008 and on the information in the Directors’ remuneration report that is described as having been audited.
Respective responsibilities of Directors and auditors
The Directors’ responsibilities for preparing the Annual Report and Accounts and the consolidated financial statements in accordance with applicable law and International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRSs) as adopted by the European Union are set out in the Directors’ responsibilities for preparing financial statements.
Our responsibility is to audit the consolidated financial statements in accordance with relevant legal and regulatory requirements and International Standards on Auditing (UK and Ireland). 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 into 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 consolidated financial statements give a true and fair view and whether the consolidated financial statements have been properly prepared in accordance with the Companies Act 1985 and Article 4 of the IAS Regulation. We also report to you whether in our opinion the information given in the Directors’ report is consistent with the consolidated financial statements. The information given in the Directors’ report includes that specific information that is cross referred from the business review section of the Directors’ report.
In addition we report to you if, in our opinion, we have not received all the information and explanations we require for our audit, or if information specified by law regarding Directors’ remuneration and other transactions is not disclosed.
We review whether the corporate governance statement reflects the Company’s compliance with the nine provisions of the Combined Code (2006) 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 other information contained in the Annual Report and Accounts and consider whether it is consistent with the audited consolidated financial statements. The other information comprises only the Chairman’s statement, the Group Chief Executive’s statement, the Business review, the Directors’ report, the unaudited sections of the Directors’ remuneration report and the other information as listed on the contents page. We consider the implications for our report if we become aware of any apparent misstatements or material inconsistencies with the consolidated financial statements. Our responsibilities do not extend to any other information.
Basis of audit opinion
We conducted our audit in accordance with International Standards on Auditing (UK and Ireland) issued by the Auditing Practices
Board. An audit includes examination, on a test basis, of evidence relevant to the amounts and disclosures in the consolidated financial statements. It also includes an assessment of the significant estimates and judgments made by the Directors in the preparation of the consolidated financial statements, and of whether the accounting policies are appropriate to the Group’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 sufficient evidence to give reasonable assurance that the consolidated financial statements 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 consolidated financial statements.
Opinion
In our opinion:
- the consolidated financial statements give a true and fair view, in accordance with IFRSs as adopted by the European Union, of the state of the Group’s affairs as at 31 December 2008 and of its profit and cash flows for the year then ended;
- the consolidated financial statements have been properly prepared in accordance with the Companies Act 1985 and Article 4 of the IAS Regulation; and
- the information given in the Directors’ report is consistent with the consolidated financial statements.
PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP
Chartered Accountants and Registered Auditors
Edinburgh
12 March 2009
- The maintenance and integrity of the Standard Life website is the responsibility of the Directors; the work carried out by the auditors does not involve consideration of these matters and, accordingly, the auditors accept no responsibility for any changes that may have occurred to the financial statements since they were initially presented on the website.
- Legislation in the United Kingdom governing the preparation and dissemination of financial statements may differ from legislation in other jurisdictions.
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