Page 128 - CCB_Annual Report_2022

128 Notes to the Financial Statements
Independent auditors’ report to the directors of
Cambridge & Counties Bank Limited
Report on the audit of the country-by-country information
Opinion
In our opinion, Cambridge & Counties Bank Limited’s country-by-country information for the year ended 31
December 2022 has been properly prepared, in all material respects, in accordance with the requirements of the
Capital Requirements (Country-by-Country Reporting) Regulations 2013.
We have audited the country-by-country information for the year ended 31 December 2022 in the Country-by-
Country Report.
Basis for opinion
We conducted our audit in accordance with International Standards on Auditing (UK) (“ISAs (UK)”), including ISA
(UK) 800 and ISA (UK) 805, and applicable law. Our responsibilities under ISAs (UK) are further described in the
Auditors’ responsibilities for the audit of the country-by-country information section of our report. We believe that
the audit evidence we have obtained is sufficient and appropriate to provide a basis for our opinion.
Independence
We remained independent of the company in accordance with the ethical requirements that are relevant to our audit
of the country-by-country information in the UK, which includes the FRC’s Ethical Standard, as applicable to public
interest entities, and we have fulfilled our other ethical responsibilities in accordance with these requirements.
Emphasis of matter - Basis of preparation
In forming our opinion on the country-by-country information, which is not modified, we draw attention to country-
by-country report of the country-by-country information which describes the basis of preparation. The country-by-
country information is prepared for the directors for the purpose of complying with the requirements of the Capital
Requirements (Country-by-Country Reporting) Regulations 2013. The country-by-country information has therefore
been prepared in accordance with a special purpose framework and, as a result, the country-by-country information
may not be suitable for another purpose.
Conclusions relating to going concern
Our evaluation of the directors’ assessment of the company’s ability to continue to adopt the going concern basis of
accounting included:
• We reviewed and challenged the key assumptions used by the directors in their determination of the going
concern of the Company.
• We reviewed management’s stress test scenarios and considered whether the Company would continue to
operate above required regulatory capital and liquidity minima during times of stress.
• We considered as to whether our audit work had identified events or conditions which may give rise to
uncertainty of the Company’s future ability to trade; and
• We reviewed legal and regulatory correspondence to ensure that any compliance issues which may impact
the going concern of the Company had not been identified.
Based on the work we have performed, we have not identified any material uncertainties relating to events or
conditions that, individually or collectively, may cast significant doubt on the company’s ability to continue as a going
concern for a period of at least twelve months from the date on which the country-by-country information is
authorised for issue.
In auditing the country-by-country information, we have concluded that the directors’ use of the going concern basis
of accounting in the preparation of the country-by-country information is appropriate.
However, because not all future events or conditions can be predicted, this conclusion is not a guarantee as to the
company’s ability to continue as a going concern.
Our responsibilities and the responsibilities of the directors with respect to going concern are described in the
relevant sections of this report.
Responsibilities for the country-by-country information and the audit
Responsibilities of the directors for the country-by-country information
The directors are responsible for the preparation of the country-by-country information in accordance with the
requirements of the Capital Requirements (Country-by-Country Reporting) Regulations 2013 as explained in the
basis of preparation in the country-by-country information, and for determining that the basis of preparation and
accounting policies are acceptable in the circumstances. The directors are also responsible for such internal control as
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they determine is necessary to enable the preparation of country-by-country information that is free from material
misstatement, whether due to fraud or error.
In preparing the country-by-country information, the directors are responsible for assessing the company’s ability to
continue as a going concern, disclosing as applicable, matters related to going concern and using the going concern
basis of accounting unless the directors either intend to liquidate the company or to cease operations, or have no
realistic alternative but to do so.
Auditors’ responsibilities for the audit of the country-by-country information
It is our responsibility to report on whether the country-by-country information has been properly prepared in
accordance with the relevant requirements of the Capital Requirements (Country-by-Country Reporting) Regulations
2013.
Our objectives are to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the country-by-country information as a whole is
free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error, and to issue an auditors’ report that includes our
opinion. Reasonable assurance is a high level of assurance, but is not a guarantee that an audit conducted in
accordance with ISAs (UK) will always detect a material misstatement when it exists. Misstatements can arise from
fraud or error and are considered material if, individually or in the aggregate, they could reasonably be expected to
influence the economic decisions of users taken on the basis of this country-by-country information.
Irregularities, including fraud, are instances of non-compliance with laws and regulations. We design
procedures in line with our responsibilities, outlined above, to detect material misstatements in respect of
irregularities, including fraud. The extent to which our procedures are capable of detecting irregularities,
including fraud, is detailed below.
Based on our understanding of the company, we identified that the principal risks of non-compliance with laws and
regulations related to breaches of UK regulatory principles, such as those governed by the Prudential Regulation
Authority, and we considered the extent to which non-compliance might have a material effect on the country-by-
country information. We also considered those laws and regulations that have a direct impact on the country-by-
country information such as applicable tax legislation and the Capital Requirements (Country-by-Country Reporting)
Regulations 2013. We evaluated management’s incentives and opportunities for fraudulent manipulation of the
country-by-country information (including the risk of override of controls), and determined that the principal risks
were related to posting inappropriate journal entries to increase revenue or reduce expenditure and management bias
in accounting estimates. Audit procedures performed included:
● Review of correspondence with and reports to the regulators.
● Testing significant accounting estimates.
● Testing of journal entries which contained unusual account combinations back to corroborating evidence.
● Discussions with management and those charged with governance in relation to known or suspected
instances of noncompliance with laws and regulation and fraud; and
● Review of internal audit reports.
There are inherent limitations in the audit procedures described above. We are less likely to become aware of
instances of non-compliance with laws and regulations that are not closely related to events and transactions reflected
in the country-by-country information. Also, the risk of not detecting a material misstatement due to fraud is higher
than the risk of not detecting one resulting from error, as fraud may involve deliberate concealment by, for example,
forgery or intentional misrepresentations, or through collusion.
A further description of our responsibilities for the audit of the country-by-country information is located on the
FRC’s website at: www.frc.org.uk/auditorsresponsibilities. This description forms part of our auditors’ report.
Use of this report
This report, including the opinion, has been prepared for and only for the company’s directors in accordance with the
Capital Requirements (Country-by-Country Reporting) Regulations 2013 and for no other purpose. We do not, in
giving this opinion, accept or assume responsibility for any other purpose or to any other person to whom this report
is shown or into whose hands it may come, save where expressly agreed by our prior consent in writing.
The engagement partner responsible for this audit is Chris Shepherd
PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP
Chartered Accountants and Statutory Auditors
Birmingham
30 March 2023