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The Certificate of the Comptroller and Auditor General to
The House of Commons Commission
I have audited the financial statements on pages
9 to 17 which have been prepared under the historical cost convention
and the policies set out on page 13.
Respective responsibilities of the House of Commons
Commission, the Accounting Officer and the Auditor
As described on page 5 the House of Commons
Commission, the Accounting Officer and Additional Accounting Officer
are responsible for the preparation of the financial statements.
The Additional Accounting Officer is responsible for the preparation
of the Additional Accounting Officer's report. My responsibilities,
as independent auditor, are guided by the Auditing Practices Board
and the auditing profession's ethical guidance.
I report my opinion as to whether the financial
statements give a true and fair view and are properly prepared
in accordance with the determinations of the House of Commons
Commission. I also report if, in my opinion, the Additional Accounting
Officer's report is not consistent with the financial statements,
if the Refreshment Department have not kept proper records, or
if I have not received all the information and explanations I
require for my audit.
I review whether the statement on pages 6 and
7 reflects the Refreshment Department's compliance with Treasury's
guidance "Corporate governance: statement on the system of
internal financial control". I report if it does not meet
the requirements specified in that guidance, or if the statement
is misleading or inconsistent with other information I am aware
of from my audit of the financial statements.
Basis of Opinion
I conducted my audit in accordance with Auditing
Standards issued by the Auditing Practices Board. An audit includes
examination, on a test basis, of evidence relevant to the amounts
and disclosures included in the financial statements. It also
includes an assessment of the significant estimates and judgements
made by the Accounting Officers in the preparation of the financial
statements, and of whether the accounting policies are appropriate
to the circumstances of the Refreshment Department Trading account,
consistently applied and adequately disclosed.
As explained in the Additional Accounting Officer's
Report (page 1), and in accordance with arrangements agreed with
the House of Commons Commission, not all costs related to the
provision of refreshments in the House of Commons are borne on
the Refreshment Department Trading account. Other costs are funded
by the House of Commons Votes and accounted for in the relevant
Appropriation accounts, and the main ones are referred to in Note
3(b) of the accounts.
I planned and performed my audit so as to obtain
all the information and explanations which I considered necessary
in order to provide me with sufficient evidence to give reasonable
assurance that the financial statements, constituted in accordance
with the arrangements agreed with the House of Commons Commission,
are free from material misstatement, whether caused by error,
or by fraud or other irregularity. In forming my opinion, I also
evaluated the overall adequacy of the presentation of information
in the financial statements.
Opinion
In my opinion, the financial statements give
a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the House of Commons
Refreshment Department Trading account at 1 April 1999 and of
the surplus, total recognised gains and losses and cash flows
for the period then ended and have been properly prepared in accordance
with the determinations of the House of Commons Commission.
W A Kenway-Smith
Director of Audit
For the Comptroller and Auditor General
| National Audit Office
157-197 Buckingham Palace Road
Victoria
London SW1W 9SP
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| 2 July 1999 | |
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