The Chairman
Bank of Ceylon
The audit of the financial statements of the Bank of Ceylon (Bank) and the consolidated financial statements of the Bank and its subsidiaries (Group) for the year ended 31 December 2012 comprising the Statements of Financial Position as at 31 December 2012, the Statements of Income, Statements of Comprehensive Income, Statements of changes in Equity and Cash Flow Statements for the year then ended, and a summary of significant accounting policies and other explanatory information, was carried out under my direction in pursuance of provisions in Article 154(I) of the Constitution of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka. To carry out this audit I was assisted by a firm of Chartered Accountants in public practice. The financial statements of the subsidiaries were audited by firms of Chartered Accountants in public practice appointed by the members of the respective subsidiaries.
Management is responsible for the preparation and fair presentation of these financial statements in accordance with Sri Lanka Accounting Standards. This responsibility includes: designing, implementing and maintaining internal control relevant to the preparation and fair presentation of financial statements that are free from material misstatements, whether due to fraud or error; selecting and applying appropriate accounting policies; and making accounting estimates that are reasonable in the circumstances.
My responsibility is to express an opinion on these financial statements based on the audit. I conducted my audit in accordance with Sri Lanka Auditing Standards. Those standards require that I plan and perform the audit to obtain reasonable assurance as to whether the financial statements are free from material misstatements.
An Audit includes examining, on a test basis of evidence supporting the amounts and disclosures in the financial statements. An Audit also includes assessing the accounting policies used and significant estimates made by the management, as well as evaluating the overall financial statement presentation. I have obtained all the information and explanations which to the best of our knowledge and belief were necessary for the purpose for my audit. I therefore believe that my audit provides a reasonable basis for my opinion.
In my opinion, so far as appears from my examination, the Bank maintained proper accounting records for the year ended 31 December 2012 and the financial statements give a true and fair view of the financial position of the Bank as at 31 December 2012 and its financial performance and its cash flows for the year then ended in accordance with Sri Lanka Accounting Standards. In my opinion, the consolidated financial statements give a true and fair view of the financial position as at 31 December 2012 and its financial performance and cash flows for the year then ended in accordance with Sri Lanka Accounting Standards of the Bank and its subsidiaries dealt with thereby, so far as concerns the shareholders of the Bank.
The Bank has been exempted from the provisions of Part II of the Finance Act, No. 38 of 1971 by an Order of then Minister of Finance published in the Government Gazette No. 715 of 14 May 1992 by virtue of powers vested in him by Sections 5 (1) of the said Finance Act.
My report to Parliament in pursuance of provisions in Article 154 (6) of the
constitution will be tabled in due course.
H A S Samaraweera
Auditor General
