The responsibilities of the Directors in relation to the Financial Statements of the Bank prepared in accordance with the provisions of the Companies Act No. 07 of 2007 are set out in the following statement. The responsibilities of the External Auditor in relation to the Financial Statements are set out in the Report of the Auditors given on pages 121 to 123 of the Annual Report.
As per the provisions of the Sections 150 (1), 151,152 and 153 (1) and (2) of the Companies Act No. 07 of 2007 the Directors are required to prepare Financial Statements that give a true and fair view of the financial position of the Bank for each financial year and place them before the Annual General Meeting. The Financial Statements comprise the Statement of Financial Position as at end of the financial year, the Statement of Comprehensive Income, Statement of Changes in Equity and Statement of Cash Flows for the year then ended and notes thereto.
The Financial Statements are prepared by Chief Financial Officer under the supervision of Chief Executive Officer. The Directors confirm that the Financial Statements of the Bank give a true and fair view of –
- The state of affairs of the Bank as at 31 December 2018; and
- The financial performance of the Bank for the financial year ended 31 December 2018.
The Board of Directors accepts the responsibility of the integrity and objectivity of the Financial Statements presented in this Annual Report. The Directors confirm that in preparing these Financial Statements –
- The appropriate accounting policies have been selected and applied in a consistent manner and material departures, if any, have been disclosed and explained;
- Judgements and estimates have been made which are reasonable and prudent; and
- All applicable Accounting Standards, as relevant, have been complied with.
The Directors are also required to ensure that the Bank has adequate resources to continue in operation to justify applying the going concern basis in preparing these Financial Statements.
Further, the Directors have a responsibility to ensure that the Bank has maintained sufficient accounting records to disclose, with reasonable accuracy the financial position of the Bank.
The Financial Statements prepared and presented in this Report are consistent with the underlying books of account and are in conformity with the requirements of Sri Lanka Accounting Standards (SLFRS) which came into effect from 1 January 2012, Companies Act No. 07 of 2007, Sri Lanka Accounting and Auditing Standard Act No. 15 of 1995, Banking Act No. 30 of 1988 and amendments thereto, the Listing Rules of Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE) and the Code of Best Practice on Corporate Governance issued jointly by The Institute of Chartered Accountants of Sri Lanka (CA Sri Lanka) and the Securities Exchange Commission of Sri Lanka (SEC).
In addition, these Financial Statements comply with the prescribed format issued by the Central Bank of Sri Lanka for the preparation of Annual Financial Statements of Licensed Specialised Banks.
The Directors have also instituted effective and comprehensive systems of Internal Control for identifying, recording, evaluating and managing the significant risks faced by the Bank throughout the year and it is being under regular review of the Board of Directors. This comprises internal reviews, internal audit and the whole system of financial and other controls required to carry on the business of banking in an orderly manner, safeguard its assets, prevent and detect frauds and other irregularities and secure as far as practicable the accuracy and reliability of the records. The results of such reviews carried out during the year ended 31 December 2018 are given on pages 116 to 117 of the Annual Report, “Directors Statement on Internal Control over Financial Reporting”. External Auditors’ Assurance Report on the “Directors Statement on Internal Control” is given on page 118 of the Annual Report.
The Directors have taken appropriate steps to ensure that the Bank maintains proper books of accounts and review the financial reporting system directly by them at their regular meetings and also through the Board Audit Committee. The report of the said Committee is given on page 96 to 99 in the Annual Report. The Board of Directors also approves the Interim Financial Statements prior to their release following a review and recommendation by the Board Audit Committee.
The Board of Directors accepts responsibility for the integrity and objectivity of the Financial Statements presented in this Annual Report.
Directors are required to prepare the Financial Statements and to provide the Bank’s External Auditor, Messrs Ernst & Young, Chartered Accountants, with every opportunity to carry out whatever reviews and sample checks on the system of internal control they may consider appropriate and necessary for expressing their independent audit opinion on the Financial Statements.
The Financial Statements of the Bank have been certified by the Chief Financial Officer of the Bank, the officer responsible for their preparation, as required by Sections 150 (1) (b) and 152 (1) (b) of the Companies Act. Also the Financial Statements of the Bank have been signed by two Directors and the Company Secretary of the Bank on 8 March 2019 as required by Sections 150 (1) (c) and 152 (1) (c) of the Companies Act.
The Directors to the best of their knowledge and belief, are satisfied that all statutory payments in relation to all relevant regulatory and statutory authorities which were due and payable by the Bank as at the Statement of Financial Position date have been paid or where relevant provided for.
The Directors are of the view that they have discharged their responsibilities as set out in this statement.
By Order of the Board,
Tamarika Rodrigo
Company Secretary
8 March 2019
Colombo, Sri Lanka