Report of the independent auditors – parent company
Independent auditors
report to the members of BT Group plc
We have audited the parent company financial statements of
BT Group plc for the year ended 31 March 2008 which comprise the balance sheet
and the accounting policies. These parent company financial statements have
been prepared under the accounting policies set out therein. These parent company
financial statements are set out in the financial statements of BT Group plc. We have also audited the
information in the Report on Directors Remuneration that is described
as having been audited.
We have reported separately
on the consolidated financial statements of BT Group plc for the year ended
31 March 2008.
Respective responsibilities
of directors and auditors
The directors responsibilities for preparing the Annual
Report, the Report on Directors Remuneration and the parent company 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 directors responsibilities.
Our responsibility is to audit
the parent company financial statements and the part of the Report on Directors
Remuneration to be audited 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 companys
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 parent company financial statements give a true and fair
view
and whether the parent company financial statements and the part of the
Report on Directors Remuneration to be audited have been properly prepared
in accordance with the Companies Act 1985. We also report to you whether
in our
opinion the information given in the Report of the Directors is consistent
with
the parent company financial statements.
In addition we report to
you if, in our opinion, the 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 directors remuneration
and other transactions is not disclosed.
We read other information
contained in the Annual Report and Form 20-F and consider whether it is consistent
with the audited parent company financial statements. The other information
comprises only the Overview and the Report of the Directors. We consider the
implications for our report if we become aware of any apparent misstatements
or material inconsistencies with the parent company financial statements. Our
responsibilities do not extend to any other information.
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 parent company financial statements and the part of the Report
on Directors Remuneration to be audited. It also includes an assessment
of the significant estimates and judgments made by the directors in the preparation
of the parent company financial statements, and of whether the accounting policies
are appropriate to the companys 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 parent company financial statements and the part of the Report
on Directors Remuneration to be audited are free from material misstatement,
whether caused by fraud or other irregularity or error. In forming our opinion
we also evaluated the overall adequacy of the presentation of information in
the parent company financial statements and the part of the Report on Directors
Remuneration to be audited.
Opinion
In our opinion:
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the parent company financial
statements give a true and fair view, in accordance
with United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice,
of the state of the companys affairs as at 31
March 2008; |
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the parent company financial
statements and the part of the Report on Directors Remuneration
to be audited have been properly prepared
in accordance with the Companies Act 1985; and |
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the information given in the
Report of the Directors is consistent with the parent
company financial statements. |
PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP
Chartered Accountants and Registered
Auditors
London, United Kingdom
14 May 2008
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