Independant auditors' report
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We have audited the financial statements of Citizens Advice for the year ended 31 March 2007 which comprise the Statement of Financial Activities, the Balance Sheet, the Cash Flow Statement and the related notes. These financial statements have been prepared under the accounting policies set out therein.
Respective responsibilities of trustees and auditors
The responsibilities of the trustees (who are also the directors of Citizens Advice for the purposes of company law) for preparing the Annual Report and the financial statements in accordance with applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice) are set out in the Statement of Trustees’ Responsibilities. As described in the statement of internal control, the Chief Executive Officer of Citizens Advice, as Accounting Officer, is also responsible for the preparation of financial statements and for ensuring the regularity of financial transactions funded by Parliamentary grant (Grant in Aid).
Our responsibility is to audit the 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 charitable 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 are properly prepared in accordance with the Companies Act 1985 and whether, in all material respects the expenditure, income and resources funded by Grant in Aid have been applied for the purposes intended by Parliament and the financial transactions conform to the authorities which govern them. We also report to you whether in our opinion the information given in the Trustees’ Report is consistent with the financial statements.
In addition we report to you if, in our opinion, the charitable company has not kept proper accounting records, if we have not received all the information and explanations we require for our audit, or if information specified by law regarding trustees’ remuneration and other transactions is not disclosed.
We read other information contained in the Annual Report, and consider whether it is consistent with the audited financial statements. This other information comprises ‘Who we are and what we do,’ the ‘Introduction from the Chair’, the ‘Trustees’ Report’ and ‘Statement of Internal Control’. We consider the implications for our report if we become aware of any apparent misstatements or material inconsistencies with the financial statements. Our responsibilities do not extend to any other information.
We review whether the statement on the system of internal control reflects Citizens Advice’s compliance with Treasury guidance and the statement on the system of internal control. We report if it does not meet the requirements specified by the Treasury, or if the statement is misleading or inconsistent with other information we are aware of from our audit of the financial statements. We are not required to consider, nor have we considered, whether the Chief Executive’s statement on the system on internal control covers all risks and controls.
We are also not required to form an opinion on the effectiveness of Citizens Advice corporate governance procedures or its risk and control procedures.
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 trustees in the preparation of the financial statements, and of whether the accounting policies are appropriate to the charitable 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 are free from material misstatement, whether caused by fraud or other irregularity or error, and that in all material respects, the expenditure, income and resources funded by Grant in Aid have been applied for the purposes intended by Parliament and the financial transactions conform to the authorities which govern them.
In forming our opinion we also evaluated the overall adequacy of the presentation of information in the financial statements.
Opinion
In our opinion:
the financial statements give a true and fair view, in accordance with United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice, of the state of the charitable company’s affairs as at 31 March 2007 and of its incoming resources and application of resources, including income and expenditure and cash flows, for the year then ended
PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP
Chartered Accountants and Registered Auditors
Southwark Towers
32 London Bridge Street
London, SE1 9SY
August 2007
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