Part 4: Financial Statements

Independent Audit Report

To the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry

The financial statements and Directors' responsibility

The financial statements comprise:

• Statement by Directors;
• Statements of Financial Performance, Financial Position and Cash Flows;
• Schedules of Commitments and Contingencies; and
• Notes to and forming part of the Financial Statements

of the Grains Research and Development Corporation, for the year ended 30 June 2005.

The Directors of the Grains Research and Development Corporation are responsible for preparing financial statements that give a true and fair presentation of the financial position and performance of the Grains Research and Development Corporation, and that comply with accounting standards, other mandatory financial reporting requirements in Australia, and the Finance Minister's Orders made under the Commonwealth Authorities and Companies Act 1997. The Directors are also responsible for the maintenance of adequate accounting records and internal controls that are designed to prevent and detect fraud and error, and for the accounting policies and accounting estimates inherent in the financial statements.

Audit approach

I have conducted an independent audit of the financial statements in order to express an opinion on them to you. My audit has been conducted in accordance with the Australian National Audit Office Auditing Standards, which incorporate the Australian Auditing and Assurance Standards, in order to provide reasonable assurance as to whether the financial statements are free of material misstatement. The nature of an audit is influenced by factors such as the use of professional judgment, selective testing, the inherent limitations of internal control, and the availability of persuasive, rather than conclusive, evidence. Therefore, an audit cannot guarantee that all material misstatements have been detected.

While the effectiveness of management's internal controls over financial reporting was considered when determining the nature and extent of audit procedures, the audit was not designed to provide assurance on internal controls.

I have performed procedures to assess whether, in all material respects, the financial statements present fairly, in accordance with the Finance Minister's Orders made under the Commonwealth Authorities and Companies Act 1997, accounting standards and other mandatory financial reporting requirements in Australia, a view which is consistent with my understanding of the Grains Research and Development Corporation's financial position, and of its performance as represented by the statements of financial performance and cash flows.

The audit opinion is formed on the basis of these procedures, which included:

• examining on a test basis, information to provide evidence supporting the amounts and disclosures in the financial statements; and
• assessing the appropriateness of the accounting policies and disclosures used, and the reasonableness of significant accounting estimates made by the Directors.

In conducting the audit, I have followed the independence requirements of the Australian National Audit Office, which incorporate the ethical requirements of the Australian accounting profession.

In my opinion, the financial statements of the Grains Research and Development Corporation:

1. have been prepared in accordance with the Finance Minister's Orders made under the Commonwealth Authorities and Companies Act 1997; and
2. give a true and fair view of the Grains Research and Development Corporation's financial position as at 30 June 2005 and of its performance and cash flows for the year than ended, in accordance with:
   1. the matters required by the Finance Minister's Orders; and
   2. applicable accounting standards and other mandatory financial reporting requirements in Australia.

Australian National Audit Office

Michael White
Executive Director

Delegate of the Auditor-General

Canberra
29 July 2005