TO THE MEMBERS OF INTERNATIONAL POWER plc
We have audited the Group and parent company financial statements (the financial statements) of International Power plc for the year ended 31 December 2005 which comprise the consolidated income statement, the consolidated and Company balance sheets, the consolidated cash flow statement, the consolidated statement of changes in equity and the related notes to the consolidated financial statements. These financial statements have been prepared under the accounting policies set out therein. We have also audited the information in the Directors' remuneration report that is described as having been audited.
This report is made solely to the Company's members, as a body, in accordance with section 235 of the Companies Act 1985. Our audit work has been undertaken so that we might state to the Company's members those matters we are required to state to them in an auditor's report and for no other purpose. To the fullest extent permitted by law, we do not accept or assume responsibility to anyone other than the Company and the Company's members as a body, for our audit work, for this report, or for the opinions we have formed.
Respective responsibilities of Directors and auditors
The Directors' responsibilities for preparing the Annual Report and the consolidated financial statements in accordance with applicable law and International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRSs) as adopted by the EU, and for preparing the parent company financial statements and the Directors' remuneration report in accordance with applicable law and UK Accounting Standards (UK Generally Accepted Accounting Practice) are set out in the statement of Directors' responsibilities.
Our responsibility is to audit the financial statements and the part of the Directors' remuneration report to be audited in accordance with relevant legal and regulatory requirements and International Standards on Auditing (UK and Ireland).
We report to you our opinion as to whether the financial statements give a true and fair view and whether the financial statements and the part of the Directors' remuneration report to be audited have been properly prepared in accordance with the Companies Act 1985 and whether, in addition, the Group financial statements have been properly prepared in accordance with Article 4 of the IAS Regulation. We also report to you if, in our opinion, the Directors' report is not consistent with the financial statements, if 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 review whether the corporate governance statement reflects the Company's compliance with the nine provisions of the 2003 FRC Combined Code specified for our review by the Listing Rules of the Financial Services Authority, and we report if it does not. We are not required to consider whether the Board's statements on internal control cover all risks and controls, or form an opinion on the effectiveness of the Group's corporate governance procedures or its risk and control procedures.
We read other information contained in the Annual Report and consider whether it is consistent with the audited financial statements. 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.
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 and the part of the Directors' remuneration report to be audited. It also includes an assessment of the significant estimates and judgements made by the Directors in the preparation of the financial statements, and of whether the accounting policies are appropriate to the Group's and 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 and the part of the Directors' remuneration report 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 financial statements and the part of the Directors' remuneration report to be audited.
Opinion
In our opinion:
- the Group financial statements give a true and fair view, in accordance with IFRSs as adopted by the EU, of the state of the Group's affairs as at 31 December 2005 and of its profit for the year then ended;
- the Group financial statements have been properly prepared in accordance with the Companies Act 1985 and Article 4 of the IAS Regulation;
- the parent company financial statements give a true and fair view, in accordance with UK Generally Accepted Accounting Practice, of the state of the parent company's affairs as at 31 December 2005;
- the parent company financial statements and the part of the Directors' remuneration report to be audited have been properly prepared in accordance with the Companies Act 1985.
| KPMG Audit Plc Chartered accountants Registered auditor 6 March 2006 |
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