Company law in the Republic of Ireland requires the Directors to prepare financial statements for each financial year which give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the Parent Company and of the Group and of the profit or loss of the Group for that period.
In preparing the Consolidated 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;
- comply with applicable International Financial Reporting Standards as adopted by the European Union, subject to any material departures disclosed and explained in the financial statements; and
- prepare the financial statements on the going concern basis unless it is inappropriate to presume that the Group will continue in business.
The considerations set out above for the Group are also required to be addressed by the Directors in preparing the financial statements of the Parent Company, in respect of which the applicable accounting standards are those which are generally accepted in the Republic of Ireland.
The Directors have elected to prepare the Parent Company’s Financial Statements in accordance with generally accepted accounting practice in Ireland (Irish GAAP) comprising the financial reporting standards issued by the Accounting Standards Board and published by the Institute of Chartered Accountants in Ireland, together with the Companies Acts, 1963 to 2009.
The Directors are responsible for keeping proper books of account which disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the Parent Company and which enable them to ensure that the Consolidated Financial Statements are prepared in accordance with applicable International Financial Reporting Standards as adopted by the European Union and comply with the provisions of the Companies Acts, 1963 to 2009 and Article 4 of the IAS Regulation. They are also responsible for safeguarding the assets of the Group and hence for taking reasonable steps for the prevention and detection of fraud and other irregularities.