Independent Assurance Report to the Board of Directors of Hayleys PLC on the Integrated Report - 2013/14

Introduction and scope of the engagement

The management of Hayleys PLC (“the Company”) engaged us to provide an independent assurance on the following elements of the
Integrated Report - 2013/14 (“the Report”):
  • Reasonable assurance on the information on financial performance as specified in Group Value Addition and Distribution.
  • Limited assurance on other information presented in the Report, prepared in accordance with the requirements of the Global Reporting Initiative G4 ‘In accordance’ - Core guidelines and other Hayleys PLC’s reporting practices.

Basis of our work and level of assurance

We performed our procedures to provide limited assurance in accordance with Sri Lanka Standard on Assurance Engagements (SLSAE 3000): ‘Assurance Engagements Other than Audits or Reviews of Historical Financial Information’, issued by the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Sri Lanka (“CASL”).

The evaluation criteria used for this limited assurance engagement are based on the Sustainability Reporting Guidelines (“GRI Guidelines”) and related information in particular, the requirements to achieve GRI G4 ‘In accordance’ - Comprehensive guideline publication, publicly available at GRI’s global website at “www.globalreporting.org”.

Our engagement provides limited assurance as well as reasonable assurance. A limited assurance engagement is substantially less in scope than a reasonable assurance engagement conducted in accordance with SLSAE-3000 and consequently does not enable to obtain assurance that we would become aware of all significant matters that might be identified in a reasonable assurance engagement. Accordingly, we do not express an opinion providing reasonable assurance.

Management of the Company’s responsibility for the Report

The management of the company is responsible for the preparation of the self-declaration, the information and statements contained within the Report, and for maintaining adequate records and internal controls that are designed to support the sustaining reporting process in line with the GRI Sustainability Reporting Guidelines.

Ernst & Young’s responsibility

Our responsibility is to express a conclusion as to whether we have become aware of any matter that causes us to believe that the Report is not prepared in accordance with the requirements of the Global Reporting Initiative G4 ‘In accordance’ - Core guidelines and other Hayleys PLC’s reporting practices. This report is made solely to the Company in accordance with our engagement letter dated 30 April 2014. We disclaim any assumption of responsibility for any reliance on this report to any person other than the company or for any purpose other than that for which it was prepared. In conducting our engagement, we have complied with the independence requirements of the Code for Ethics for Professional Accountants issued by the CASL.

Key assurance procedures

We planned and performed our procedures to obtain the information and explanations considered necessary to provide sufficient evidence to support our limited assurance conclusions. Key assurance procedures included:
  • Visited the corporate office and other sectorial offices belongs to Hayleys PLC:
    - Investments & Services (i.e. Hayleys Business Solutions International (Pvt) Ltd. at Hayleys PLC head office)
    - Construction Material (i.e. Alumex Group at Sapugaskanda)
    - Fibre (i.e. Ravi Industries Ltd. at Ekala, Ja-ela)
    - Agriculture (i.e. HJS Condiments Ltd. at Biyagama)
  • Interviewing relevant the company’s personnel to understand the process for collection, analysis, aggregation and presentation
  • Checking the calculations performed by the company on a sample basis through recalculation
  • Reconciling and agreeing the data on financial performance are properly derived from the company’s audited financial statements
    for the year ended 31 March 2014
  • Comparison of the content of the Report against the criteria for a Global Reporting Initiative G4 ‘In accordance’ - Core guidelines and
    other Hayleys PLC’s reporting practices.

    • Our procedures did not include testing electronic systems used to collect and aggregate the information.

Limitations and considerations

Environmental and social performance data are subject to inherent limitations given their nature and the methods used for determining, calculating and estimating such data.

Conclusion

Based on the procedures performed, as described above, we conclude that

  • The information on financial performance as specified on page 56 of the Report are properly derived from the audited financial statements of the Company for the years ending 31 March 2013 and 31 March 2014.
  • Nothing has come to our attention that causes us to believe that other information presented in the Report are not fairly presented, in all material respects, in accordance with the Company’s sustainability practices and policies some of which are derived from GRI-G4 - ‘In accordance’ Core Sustainability Reporting Guidelines and other Hayleys PLC’s reporting practices.



Chartered Accountants
20th May 2014
Colombo