Finances: Independent audit report | Directors' declaration

Independent audit report

Audit opinion
In our opinion, the financial report, set out here:

• presents a true and fair view, as required by the Corporations Act 2001 in Australia, of the financial position of the Australian Library and Information Association as at 31 December 2002 and of its performance for the year ended on that date.
• is presented in accordance with the Corporations Act 2001, Accounting Standards and other mandatory professional reporting requirements in Australia, and the Corporations Regulations 2001.

This opinion must be read in conjunction with the following explanation of the scope and summary of our role as auditor.

Scope and summary of our role
The financial report - responsibility and content
The preparation of the financial report for the year ended 31 December 2002 is the responsibility of the directors of the Australian Library and Information Association. It includes the financial statements for the Australian Library and Information Association (the Association).

The auditor's role and work
We conducted an independent audit of the financial report in order to express an opinion on it to the members of the Association. Our role was to conduct the audit in accordance with Australian Auditing Standards to provide reasonable assurance as to whether the financial report is free of material mis-statement. Our audit did not involve an analysis of the prudence of business decisions made by the directors or management.

In conducting the audit, we carried out a number of procedures to assess whether in all material respects the financial report presents fairly a view in accordance with the Corporations Act 2001, Accounting Standards and other mandatory professional reporting requirements in Australia, and the Corporations Regulations 2001, which is consistent with our understanding of the Association's financial position, and its performance as represented by the results of its operations and cash flows.

The procedures included:

• selecting and examining evidence, on a test basis, to support amounts and disclosures in the financial report. This included testing, as required by auditing standards, certain internal controls, transactions and individual items. We did not examine every item of available evidence.
• evaluating the accounting policies applied and significant accounting estimates made by the directors in their preparation of the financial report.
• obtaining written confirmation regarding material representations made to us in connection with the audit.
• reviewing the overall presentation of information in the financial report.

Our audit opinion was formed on the basis of these procedures.

Independence
As auditor, we are required to be independent of the Association and free of interests which could be incompatible with integrity and objectivity. In respect of this engagement, we followed the independence requirements set out by The Institute of Chartered Accountants in Australia, the Corporations Act 2001 and the Auditing and Assurance Standards Board.

M J Empson
Partner (Canberra)

Canberra March 2003

Directors' declaration

The directors declare that the financial statements and notes set out here:

1. comply with accounting standards, the corporations regulations 2001 and other mandatory professional reporting requirements; and
2. give a true and fair view of the Association's financial position as at 31 December 2002 and of its performance, as represented by the result of its operations and its cashflows, for the financial year ended on that date.

In the directors' opinion:

1. the financial statements and notes are in accordance with the Corporations Act 2001; and:
2. there are reasonable grounds to believe that the Association will be able to pay its debts as and when they become due and payable.

This declaration is made in accordance with a resolution of the directors.

Joyce Kirk
Director

Canberra March 2003