Directors' responsibility for financial reporting

The directors of the company are responsible for the maintenance of adequate accounting records and the preparation and integrity of the consolidated annual financial statements and related information. The consolidated annual financial statements have been prepared in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards and its interpretations adopted by the International Accounting Standards Board in issue and effective for the group at 30 June 2013 and the SAICA Financial Reporting Guides, as issued by the Accounting Practices Committee and financial reporting pronouncements as issued by the Financial Reporting Standards Council, and the requirements of the South African Companies Act, 2008. The group’s independent external auditors, Deloitte & Touche, have audited the consolidated annual financial statements and their unmodified report appears on page 88.

The directors are also responsible for the systems of internal control. These are designed to provide reasonable, but not absolute, assurance as to the reliability of the financial statements, and to adequately safeguard, verify and maintain accountability for assets, and to prevent and detect material misstatements and losses. The systems are implemented and monitored by suitably trained personnel with an appropriate segregation of authority and duties. Nothing has come to the attention of the directors to indicate that any material breakdown in the functioning of these controls, procedures and systems has occurred during the year under review.

The consolidated annual financial statements are prepared on the going concern basis. Nothing has come to the attention of the directors to indicate that the group will not remain a going concern for the foreseeable future.

The summarised consolidated annual financial statements which have been prepared using information required by IAS 34 Interim Financial Reporting, set out on pages 89 to 125, are an extract of the audited consolidated annual financial statements. The consolidated and separate annual financial statements are electronically available on the compact disc attached and on the group website at www.imperial.co.za.

The group’s independent external auditors, Deloitte & Touche, have confirmed that the summarised consolidated annual financial statements are derived from the consolidated annual financial statements and their unmodified report appears on page 88.

The summarised consolidated annual financial statements were approved by the board of directors on 20 August 2013 and are signed on their behalf by: