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35. Auditors
The auditors’ remuneration
for the year ended 31 March 2004 for the group was £3,790,000 (2003 –
£2,943,000, 2002 – £2,702,000).
The audit fees payable to the company’s auditors, PricewaterhouseCoopers
LLP, for the company and UK subsidiary undertakings’ statutory accounts
were £2,482,000 (2003 – £1,910,000, 2002 – £1,656,000).
The audit fee of the company was £32,000 (2003 – £31,000, 2002
– £44,000). The following fees for audit and non-audit services were
paid or are payable to the company’s auditors, PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP,
for the years ended 31 March 2004, 31 March 2003 and 31 March 2002:
| |
2004 |
|
2003 |
|
2002 |
|
| |
£000 |
|
£000 |
|
£000 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Audit services |
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Statutory audit |
3,767 |
|
2,916 |
|
2,649 |
|
| Regulatory audit |
1,950 |
|
1,690 |
|
1,142 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
5,717 |
|
4,606 |
|
3,791 |
|
| Further assurance services |
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Rights issue, restructuring and
demerger projects |
– |
|
– |
|
14,161 |
|
| Corporate finance advice |
462 |
|
265 |
|
982 |
|
| Other |
82 |
|
829 |
|
1,960 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
544 |
|
1,094 |
|
17,103 |
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Tax services |
2,656 |
|
2,245 |
|
1,883 |
|
| Other services |
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Systems advice |
– |
|
3,765 |
|
2,565 |
|
| Other |
110 |
|
766 |
|
1,537 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
110 |
|
4,531 |
|
4,102 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Total |
9,027 |
|
12,476 |
|
26,879 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Total fees paid or payable to PricewaterhouseCoopers
LLP in the UK for non audit services in the year ended 31 March 2004 were £4,545,000
(2003 – £8,980,000, 2002 – £22,683,000).
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 2002
and were completed in 2003.
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