Independent auditor’s report to the members of Investec Limited
| We have audited the accompanying group annual financial statements of Investec Limited, which comprise the directors’ report, the combined consolidated balance sheet as at 31 March 2011, the combined consolidated income statement, the combined consolidated statement of comprehensive income, combined consolidated statement of changes in equity and combined consolidated cash flow statement for the year then ended, a summary of significant accounting policies and other explanatory notes, as set out in the financial statements, the separate annual financial statements of Investec Limited, which comprise the separate balance sheet as at 31 March 2011, the separate income statement and statement of comprehensive income, the separate statement of changes in equity and separate cash flow statement for the year then ended, a summary of significant accounting policies and other explanatory notes, as set out in the Investec plc and Limited parent company accounts and the information in the risk management section and directors’ remuneration report that is marked as audited. |
Directors’ responsibility for the financial statements |
| The company's directors are responsible for the preparation and fair presentation of these financial statements in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards, and in the manner required by the Companies Act of South Africa, and for such internal control as the directors determine is necessary to enable the preparation of financial statements that are free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error. |
Auditor’s responsibility |
| Our responsibility is to express an opinion on these financial statements based on our audit. We conducted our audit in accordance with
International Standards on Auditing. Those standards require that we comply with ethical requirements and plan and perform the audit to
obtain reasonable assurance whether the financial statements are free from material misstatement. An audit involves performing procedures to obtain audit evidence about the amounts and disclosures in the financial statements. The procedures selected depend on the auditor's judgment, including the assessment of the risks of material misstatement of the financial statements, whether due to fraud or error. In making those risk assessments, the auditor considers internal control relevant to the entity's preparation and fair presentation of the financial statements in order to design audit procedures that are appropriate in the circumstances, but not for the purpose of expressing an opinion on the effectiveness of the entity's internal control. An audit also includes evaluating the appropriateness of accounting policies used and the reasonableness of accounting estimates made by the directors, as well as evaluating the overall presentation of the financial statements. We believe that the audit evidence we have obtained is sufficient and appropriate to provide a basis for our audit opinion. |
Opinion |
| In our opinion, the annual financial statements present fairly, in all material respects, the combined consolidated and separate financial position of Investec Limited as of 31 March 2011 and its combined consolidated and separate financial performance and combined consolidated and separate cash flows for the year then ended in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards, and in the manner required by the Companies Act of South Africa. |
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| Ernst & Young Inc. Director – Farouk Mohideen Chartered Accountant (SA) Registered Auditor |
| Wanderers Office Park 52 Corlett Drive Illovo Sandton |
| 15 June 2011 |