Industrial Development Agency (Ireland)
REPORT OF THE COMPTROLLER AND AUDITOR GENERAL FOR PRESENTATION TO THE HOUSES OF THE OIREACHTAS
I have audited the financial statements on pages 30 to 45 under the Industrial Development Act, 1993.
Respective Responsibilities of the Agency and the Comptroller and Auditor General
The accounting responsibilities of the Board of the Agency are set out in the Statement of Board
Members' Responsibilities on page 29. It is my responsibility, based on my audit, to form an
independent opinion on the financial statements presented to me by the Agency and to report on
them.
I review whether the statement on page 28 reflects the Agency's compliance with applicable guidance on corporate governance and report any material instance where it does not do so, or if the statement is misleading or inconsistent with other information of which I am aware from my audit of the financial statements.
Basis of Audit Opinion
In the exercise of my function as Comptroller and Auditor General, I conducted my audit of the
financial statements in accordance with auditing standards issued by the Auditing Practices Board and
by reference to the special considerations which attach to State bodies in relation to their
management and operation.
An audit includes examination, on a test basis, of evidence relevant to the amounts and disclosures in the financial statements. It also includes an assessment of the significant estimates and judgements made in the preparation of the financial statements, and of whether the accounting policies are appropriate to the Agency's circumstances, consistently applied and adequately disclosed.
I planned and performed my audit so as to obtain all the information and explanations that I considered necessary to provide me with sufficient evidence to give reasonable assurance that the financial statements are free from material misstatement whether caused by fraud or other irregularity or error. In forming my opinion I also evaluated the overall adequacy of the presentation of information in the financial statements.
Opinion
In my opinion, proper books of account have been kept by the Agency and the financial statements,
which are in agreement with them, give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the Industrial
Development Agency (Ireland) at 31 December 2002 and of its income and expenditure and cash flow
for the year then ended.
John Purcell
Comptroller and Auditor General
21 May 2003