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The
auditors’ remuneration for the year ended 31 March
2003 for the group was £2,943,000 (2002 –
£2,702,000,
2001 – £3,639,000). The audit fees payable
to the company’s auditors, PricewaterhouseCoopers
LLP (and formerly PricewaterhouseCoopers), for the company
and UK subsidiary undertakings’ statutory accounts
were £1,910,000 (2002 – £1,656,000,
2001 – £2,100,000). The audit fee of the
company was £31,000 (2002 – £44,000).
The
following fees for non-audit services were paid or are
payable to the company’s auditors, PricewaterhouseCoopers
LLP, in the UK for the years ended 31 March 2003, 31
March 2002 and 31 March 2001:
|
2003
|
|
2002
|
|
2001
|
|
|
£000
|
|
£000
|
|
£000
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Rights
issue, restructuring and demerger projects |
–
|
|
14,161
|
|
9,756
|
|
| Regulatory
audit and associated services |
1,690
|
|
1,142
|
|
1,130
|
|
| Tax
services |
1,817
|
|
1,075
|
|
1,539
|
|
| Concert
global venture related work |
505
|
|
591
|
|
1,196
|
|
| Systems
advice |
3,765
|
|
2,565
|
|
1,360
|
|
| Corporate
Finance advice |
265
|
|
982
|
|
730
|
|
| Other |
938
|
|
2,167
|
|
512
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Total |
8,980
|
|
22,683
|
|
16,223
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
In
addition, fees of £1,586,000 were paid or are
payable to PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP for the year ended
31 March 2003 (2002 – £2,540,000, 2001 –
£3,025,000) in respect of audit and other services
to the company’s subsidiary undertakings outside
the UK.
Total
fees paid or payable to PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP for
all services in the year ended 31 March 2003 were £12,476,000
(2002 – £26,879,000, 2001 – £21,348,000).
In
order to maintain the independence of the external auditors,
the Board has determined policies as to what non audit
services can be provided by the company’s external
auditors and the approval processes related to them.
Under those policies work of a consultancy nature will
not be offered to the external auditors unless there
are clear efficiencies and value added benefits to the
company.
Under
the terms of BT’s main licence the group is required
to publish audited regulatory financial statements.
The fees for regulatory work principally reflect the
audit fees associated with those regulatory financial
statements. The fees for tax services include tax compliance
and tax advisory services. The fees for systems advice
in the year ended 31 March 2003 related to advisory
services provided in connection with the implementation
of certain billing systems. These services, which were
provided by PwC Consulting, the consulting business
of PricewaterhouseCoopers that was sold to IBM in October
2002, commenced in the prior year and are now completed.
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