Responsibility for the annual financial statements

The directors are responsible for the preparation, integrity and objectivity of annual financial statements that fairly present the state of affairs of the Group and the Company at the end of the financial year, the income and cash flow for that period and other information contained in this annual report.

To enable the directors to meet these responsibilities:

• the board and management set standards and management implements systems of internal control, accounting and information systems aimed at providing reasonable assurance that assets are safeguarded and the risks of error, fraud or loss are reduced in a cost effective manner. These controls, contained in established policies and procedures, include the proper delegation of responsibilities and authorities within a clearly defined framework, effective accounting procedures and adequate segregation of duties;
  
  
• the Group’s internal audit function, which operates independently and unhindered and has unrestricted access to the audit committee, appraises, evaluates and, when necessary, recommends improvements in the systems of internal control and accounting practices, based on audit plans which take cognisance of the relative degrees of risk of each function or aspect of the business; and
  
  
• the audit committee, together with the internal auditors, plays an integral role in assessing matters relating to financial internal control, accounting policies, reporting and disclosure.

To the best of our knowledge and belief, based on the above, the directors are satisfied that no material breakdown in the operation of the systems of internal control and procedures has occurred during the year under review.

The Group consistently adopts appropriate and recognised accounting policies.

The annual financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the provisions of the Companies Act of South Africa (as amended) and comply with International Financial Reporting Standards.

The directors are of the opinion that the business will be a going concern for the foreseeable future, and accordingly, the annual financial statements are prepared on a going concern basis.

It is the responsibility of the independent external auditors to express an opinion on the annual financial statements. Their report to the members of the Company is set out here.

Approval of the annual financial statements

The directors’ which appear here, were approved by the board of directors on 13 November 2009 and are signed by

ID Sussman
Executive chairman

G Völkel
Financial director