Page 58 - Annual Report

INDEPENDENT AUDITOR’S REPORT TO THE COUNCIL OF
HONG KONG ACADEMY OF MEDICINE
香港醫學專科學院
(Established in Hong Kong)

(Continued)

Responsibilities of the council members for the consolidated financial statements

The council members are responsible for the preparation of the consolidated financial statements that give
a true and fair view in accordance with HKFRSs issued by the HKICPA and section 14 of Hong Kong
Academy of Medicine Ordinance, and for such internal control as the council members determine is
necessary to enable the preparation of consolidated financial statements that are free from material
misstatement, whether due to fraud or error.

In preparing the consolidated financial statements, the council members are responsible for assessing the
Group’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 council members either intend to liquidate the
Group or to cease operations, or have no realistic alternative but to do so.

Auditor’s responsibilities for the audit of the consolidated financial statements

Our objectives are to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the consolidated 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. This report is made solely to you, as a body, in accordance with section 14 of the
Hong Kong Academy of Medicine Ordinance, and for no other purpose. We do not assume responsibility
towards or accept liability to any other person for the contents of this report.

Reasonable assurance is a high level of assurance, but is not a guarantee that an audit conducted in
accordance with HKSAs 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
consolidated financial statements.

As part of an audit in accordance with HKSAs, we exercise professional judgement and maintain
professional scepticism throughout the audit. We also:

 Identify and assess the risks of material misstatement of the consolidated financial statements,
whether due to fraud or error, design and perform audit procedures responsive to those risks and
obtain audit evidence that is sufficient and appropriate to provide a basis for our opinion. The risk of
not detecting a material misstatement resulting from fraud is higher than for one resulting from error,
as fraud may involve collusion, forgery, intentional omissions, misrepresentations, or the override of
internal control.

 Obtain an understanding of internal control relevant to the audit in order to design audit procedures
that are appropriate in the circumstances, but not for the purpose of expressing an opinion on the
effectiveness of the Group’s internal control.

 Evaluate the appropriateness of accounting policies used and the reasonableness of accounting
estimates and related disclosures made by the council members.

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56 HKAM Annual Report 2021