One of the key audit matters is Technology Environment: - What kind of risk is this?; and - What accounts does it affect?

More details:

The Group's technology environment is vital to the operations of the business and to the integrity of the Group's financial reporting process. The technology environment is complex, with a significant degree of automation and varying levels of integration.

Our assessment of the technology environment forms a key component of our external audit and is therefore considered a key audit matter.

In conjunction with our IT specialists, our procedures included: Obtaining an understanding of the technology environment, the information systems and business processes relevant to financial reporting and the associated IT application controls and IT dependencies in manual controls. Evaluating the design and testing the implementation of relevant controls within the technology environment relevant to financial reporting systems and processes of the Group. Assessing changes to the technology environment through the testing of remediated controls, concluding on the sufficiency and appropriateness of management's changes.

Responding to deficiencies identified by designing and performing additional procedures which include the identification and testing of compensating controls and varying the nature, timing and extent of our substantive procedures performed.