HSRC Integrated Annual Report 2018/2019

86 / HSRC INTEGRATED ANNUAL REPORT 2018/19 PART E: ANNUAL FINANCIAL STATEMENTS Report on the Audit of the Financial Statements Opinion 1. I have audited the financial statements of the Human Sciences Research Council set out on pages 91 to 147, which comprise the statement of financial position as at 31 March 2019, the statement of financial performance, the statement of changes in net assets, the cash flow statement and the statement of comparison of approved budget to actual results for the year then ended, as well as the notes to the financial statements, including a summary of significant accounting policies. 2. In my opinion, the financial statements present fairly, in all material respects, the financial position of the Human Sciences Research Council as at 31 March 2019, and its financial performance and cash flows for the year then ended in accordance with the South African Standards of Generally Recognised Accounting Practice (SA Standards of GRAP) and the requirements of the Public Finance Management Act of South Africa, 1999 (Act no. 1 of 1999) (PFMA). Basis for opinion 3. I conducted my audit in accordance with the International Standards on Auditing (ISAs). My responsibilities under those standards are further described in the auditor-general’s responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements section of this auditor’s report. 4. I am independent of the entity in accordance with sections 290 and 291 of the International Ethics Standards Board for Accountants’ Code of ethics for professional accountants (IESBA code), parts 1 and 3 of the International Ethics Standards Board for Accountants’ International Code of Ethics for Professional Accountants (including International Independence Standards) and the ethical requirements that are relevant to my audit in South Africa. I have fulfilled my other ethical responsibilities in accordance with these requirements and the IESBA codes. 5. I believe that the audit evidence I have obtained is sufficient and appropriate to provide a basis for my opinion. Responsibilities of Accounting Authority for the financial statements 6. The Accounting Authority is responsible for the preparation and fair presentation of the financial statements in accordance with the SA Standards of GRAP and the requirements of the PFMA and for such internal control as the Accounting Authority determines is necessary to enable the preparation of financial statements that are free frommaterial misstatement, whether due to fraud or error. 7. In preparing the financial statements, the Accounting Authority is responsible for assessing the Human Sciences Research Council’s ability to continue as a going concern, disclosing, as applicable, matters relating to going concern and using the going concern basis of accounting unless the appropriate governance structure either intends to liquidate the entity or to cease operations, or has no realistic alternative but to do so. Auditor-general’s responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements 8. My objectives are to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements as a whole are free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error, and to issue an auditor’s report that includes my opinion. Reasonable assurance is a high level of assurance, but is not a guarantee that an audit conducted in accordance with the ISAs will always detect a material misstatement when it exists. Misstatements can arise from fraud or error and are considered material if, individually or in aggregate, they could reasonably be expected to influence the economic decisions of users taken on the basis of these financial statements. 9. A further description of my responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements is included in the annexure to this auditor’s report. REPORT OF THE AUDITOR-GENERAL TO PARLIAMENT ON THE HUMAN SCIENCES RESEARCH COUNCIL