Our 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 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 these financial statements.
In identifying and assessing the risks of material misstatement in the financial statements, we considered the potential for non-compliance with laws and regulations, including fraud, relevant to the UK learning and development sector. This included consideration of compliance with applicable education and training regulations, such as those set by the Education and Skills Funding Agency (ESFA), as well as broader legal requirements including employment law and tax legislation. We obtained an understanding of the company’s operations and regulatory environment. Our audit procedures included inquiries of management and those charged with governance, review of relevant correspondence with regulators and funding bodies, examination of board minutes, and walkthroughs of key internal controls. We performed substantive testing in areas of heightened risk, including revenue recognition, deferred income, and funding compliance, and conducted journal entry testing and a review of accounting estimates to identify potential management bias. While our audit was planned and performed to obtain reasonable assurance in accordance with ISAs (UK), it should be noted that the audit is not designed to identify all irregularities, including fraud. The responsibility for the prevention and detection of irregularities remains with management and those charged with governance.
A further description of our responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements is located on the Financial Reporting Council's website www.frc.org.uk/auditorsresponsibilities. This description forms part of our auditor's report.