Report of the Audit Committee

Role of the audit committee

The Audit Committee’s authority, responsibilities and specific duties have been formalized through an Audit Committee Charter. The role of the Audit Committee is to assist the Board in fulfilling its oversight responsibilities for the integrity of the Financial Statements of the Company and the Group, the internal control and risk management systems of the Group and its compliance with legal and regulatory requirements, the External Auditors’ performance, qualifications and independence.

Composition of the Committee

The Audit Committee of AEL is appointed by the Board of Directors and the present Committee comprises of three (03) Independent Non-Executive Directors and one (01)
Non-Executive Director of the Board.

Members of the Audit Committee are as follows:

Mr. Niroshan Dakshina Gunaratne (Chairman) Independent Non-Executive Director
Mr. Alexis Indrajit Lovell Independent Non-Executive Director
Prof. Kulatilleke Arthanayake Malik Kumar Ranasinghe Independent Non-Executive Director
Mr. Suresh Dilhan Perera
(Appointed w.e.f. 1st January 2014)		 Non-Executive Director

Mr. Ranjan John Suriyakumar Gomez who served on the Committee resigned with effect from 1st January 2014 and I thank him for his valuable support given in discharging my duties. Mr. Suresh Dilhan Perera joined us with effect from 1st January 2014. While welcoming him, I’m confident that his wealth of experience will contribute to the effective functioning of the Committee.

Meetings and Attendance

The Committee met on the following occasions to discuss matters relating to the financial year of which the Members’ attendance was as follows:

Name 2nd August
2013 		5th November
2013 		11th February
2014 		22nd May
2014

Mr. Niroshan Dakshina Gunaratne
(Chairman)
Mr. Alexis Indrajit Lovell –
Prof. Kulatilleke Arthanayake
Malik Kumar Ranasinghe

Mr. Ranjan John Suriyakumar
Gomez (Resigned w.e.f.
1st January 2014)

 – – –
Mr. S D Perera (Appointed w.e.f.
1st January 2014) 		– –

In addition to the committee members, the meetings were attended by the Director/COO, DGM - Finance, DGM - Commercial and the Chief Internal Auditor on invitation. The Company Secretaries were also present at every meeting.

Activities

The Committee performed the following tasks in relation to the financial year under review:

  • Review and recommendation of the Audited and Interim Financial Statements of the Group/Company to the Board of Directors prior to releasing same to the CSE.
  • Review and of the ‘Compliance Report’ and its enforcement to ensure compliance with all legal and regulatory requirements.
  • Review of the progress of the implementation of the Enterprise Resource Planning System.
  • Oversight of the internal audit function and review of quarterly internal audit report.
  • Review of the Internal Audit Plan for 2014/15.

Support to the Committee

The Committee received information and support from the management as required in enabling them to fulfil their responsibilities.

External Auditors

The Committee concurs with the declaration of the External Auditors of their independence in relation to the affairs of the Group. The Audit Committee has recommended the reappointment of Messrs KPMG as the External Auditors for the financial year 2014/15.

Conclusion

The Audit Committee is satisfied that the Company’s accounting policies and operational controls are sufficient and provide reasonable assurance that the affairs of the Company are managed in accordance with the Group policies and that Group assets are properly accounted for and adequately safeguarded.

N D Gunaratne

Chairman

17th July 2014

Stewardship