Independent auditors' report to the members of Schroders plc
We have audited the Group and parent company financial statements (the 'financial statements’) of Schroders plc for the year ended 31 December 2007, which comprise the Group income statement, the Group and parent balance sheets, the Group and parent cash flow statements, the Group and parent statements of recognised income and expense and the related notes. These financial statements have been prepared under the accounting policies set out therein. We have also audited the information in the remuneration report that is described as having been audited.
Respective responsibilities of Directors and auditors
The Directors’ responsibilities for preparing the Annual Report, the remuneration report and the financial statements in accordance with applicable law and International Financial Reporting Standards ('IFRS’) as adopted by the European Union are set out in the Directors’ responsibility statement.
Our responsibility is to audit the financial statements and the part of the remuneration report to be audited 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 financial statements give a true and fair view and whether the financial statements and the part of the remuneration report to be audited 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 financial statements. The information given in the Directors’ report includes that specific information presented in the Annual Report that is cross referred from the Directors’ report. We also 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 2006 Combined Code 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 consider whether it is consistent with the audited financial statements. The other information comprises the statement from the Chairman and the Chief Executive, the business review, the unaudited part of the remuneration report and the other information listed in the contents. We consider the implications for our report if we become aware of any apparent misstatements or material inconsistencies with the Group 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 financial statements. It also includes an assessment of the significant estimates and judgments made by the Directors in the preparation of the financial statements, and of whether the accounting policies are appropriate to the Group’s and 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 sufficient evidence to give reasonable assurance that the financial statements and the part of the remuneration report to be audited 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 financial statements and the part of the remuneration report to be audited.
Opinion
In our opinion:
- the Group financial statements give a true and fair view, in accordance with IFRS as adopted by the European Union, of the state of the Group’s affairs as at 31 December 2007 and of its profit and cash flows for the year then ended;
- the parent company financial statements give a true and fair view, in accordance with IFRS as adopted by the European Union, as applied in accordance with the provisions of the Companies Act 1985, of the state of the parent company’s affairs as at 31 December 2007 and of its profit and cash flows for the year then ended;
- the financial statements and the part of the remuneration report to be audited 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 Group financial statements.
PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP
Chartered Accountants and
Registered Auditors
London
10 March 2008