OPINION ON OTHER MATTERS REQUIRED BY THE OFFICE FOR STUDENTS (“OFS”) AND RESEARCH ENGLAND
In our opinion, in all material respects:
— Funds from whatever source administered by the University for specific purposes have been properly applied to those purposes and managed in accordance with relevant legislation.
— Funds provided by the OfS, UK Research and Innovation (including Research England), the Education and Skills Funding Agency and the Department for Education have been applied in accordance with the relevant terms and conditions.
— The requirements of the OfS’s Accounts Direction (OfS 2019.41) have been met.
We have nothing to report in respect of the following matters in relation to which the OfS requires us to report to you if, in our opinion:
— The University’s grant and fee income, as disclosed in the note to the accounts, has been materially misstated.
— The University’s expenditure on access and participation activities for the financial year has been materially misstated.
RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE GOVERNORS
As explained more fully in the board of governors’ responsibilities statement set out on page 93, the board of governors is responsible for the preparation of the financial statements and for being satisfied that they give a true and fair view, and for such internal control as the governors determine is necessary to enable the preparation of financial statements that are free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error.
In preparing the financial statements, the board of governors is responsible for assessing the Group and the University’s ability to continue as a going concern, disclosing, as applicable, matters related to going concern and using the going concern basis of accounting unless the board of governors either intends to liquidate the Group or the University or to cease operations, or have no realistic alternative but to do so.
AUDITOR’S RESPONSIBILITIES FOR THE AUDIT OF THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
Our objectives are to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements as a whole are free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error, and to issue an auditor’s report that includes our opinion. Reasonable assurance is a high level of assurance, but is not a guarantee that an audit conducted in accordance with ISAs (UK) will always detect a material misstatement when it exists. Misstatements can arise from fraud or error and are considered material if, individually or in the aggregate, they could reasonably be expected to influence the economic decisions of users taken on the basis of these financial statements.
Extent to which the audit was capable of detecting irregularities, including fraud
Irregularities, including fraud, are instances of non- compliance with laws and regulations. We design procedures in line with our responsibilities, outlined above, to detect material misstatements in respect of irregularities, including fraud. The extent to which our procedures are capable of detecting irregularities, including fraud is detailed below.
Based on our understanding of the Group and the sector in which it operates, we identified that the principal risks of non-compliance with laws and regulations are related to their registration with the Office for Students (“OfS) and their ongoing conditions of registration, and we considered the extent to which non-compliance might have a material effect on the Group Financial Statements or their continued operation. We also considered those laws and regulations that have a direct impact on the financial statements such as compliance with the OfS Accounts Direction and tax legislation. Auditing standards limit the required audit procedures to identify non-compliance with these laws and regulations to enquiry of the Board and other management and inspection of regulatory and legal correspondence if any.
We evaluated management’s incentives and opportunities for fraudulent manipulation of the financial statements (including the risk of override of controls), and determined that the principal risks were related to posting inappropriate journal entries to manipulate financial results and management bias in accounting estimates.
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Financial Statements 2020/21
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