Statement of Board responsibilities in respect of the Annual Report and Accounts

The Charter requires the BBC to prepare an audited Annual Report and statement of accounts.

The Board has accepted its responsibility for the preparation of a strategic report, statements of compliance with applicable codes and regulations (including the Board remuneration report) and the statement of accounts which are intended to give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the BBC and its subsidiaries (the ‘Group’) and of the income and expenditure for that period.

The Board has prepared the accounts in accordance with UK-adopted International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS). The Board must not approve the statement of accounts (or ‘financial statements’) unless it is satisfied that they give a true and fair view of the assets, liabilities and financial position of the Group and of the surplus or deficit for that period.

In preparing the financial statements, the Board has:

• selected suitable accounting policies and applied them consistently;
• made judgements and estimates that are reasonable and prudent;
• stated whether they have been prepared in accordance with the UK-adopted IFRS; and
• prepared the financial statements on the going concern basis as they believe that the BBC will continue in business.

The Board is responsible for keeping proper accounting records that are sufficient to show and explain the BBC’s transactions and disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the Group and enable them to ensure that the financial statements and the Board remuneration report comply with the Charter. It also has a general responsibility for taking such steps as are reasonably open to it to safeguard the assets of the BBC and to prevent and detect fraud and other irregularities.

The responsibilities of the Board for ensuring that the BBC exercises rigorous stewardship of public money, including responsibility for the propriety and regularity of management of the BBC’s resources, are set out in article 16 of the Charter.

The Board is responsible for the maintenance and integrity of the BBC’s website. Legislation in the UK governing the preparation and dissemination of financial statements may differ from legislation in other jurisdictions.

The Board members who held office at the date of approval of the Annual Report and Accounts, whose names and functions are listed in the Governance section of the Annual Report and Accounts, confirm that, to the best of each of their knowledge and belief:

• the financial statements, prepared in accordance with the UK-adopted IFRS, give a true and fair view of the assets, liabilities, financial position and deficit of the Group;
• the Annual Report includes a fair review of the development and performance of the business and the position of the Group, together with a description of the principal risks and uncertainties that it faces; and
• the Annual Report, taken as a whole, is fair, balanced and understandable and provides the information necessary for licence fee payers to assess the Group’s performance, business model and strategy.

Statement of disclosure of information
to auditors

The Board members who held office at the date of approval of the Annual Report and Accounts confirm that, so far as they are each aware, there is no relevant audit information of which the BBC’s auditors are unaware; and each Board member has taken all the steps that they ought to have taken as a Board member to make themselves aware of any relevant audit information and to establish that the BBC’s auditors are aware of that information.

Going concern

The Board has considered cash flow forecasts for a period in excess of a year from the date of approval of these financial statements, and have reviewed these forecasts, together with the sensitivities and mitigating factors in the context of available funds.

The Board is satisfied that the BBC is well placed to manage the risks and has adequate resources to continue in operation for at least the next 12 months. As a result, the going concern basis has been adopted in the preparation of the financial statements.

This statement was approved by the Board.