ASSURANCE ENGAGEMENT REPORT
Report on the assurance engagement on the compilation of pro forma financial information included in the condensed consolidated interim financial statements
To the directors of MultiChoice Group Limited
We have completed our assurance engagement to report on the compilation of the pro forma financial information of MultiChoice Group Limited and its subsidiaries (the group) by the directors of MultiChoice Group Limited (the directors). The pro forma financial information, as set out in note 11 of the MultiChoice Group condensed consolidated interim financial statements for the period ended 30 September 2019, consist of non-IFRS performance measures for the period ended 30 September 2019. The applicable criteria on the basis of which the directors have compiled the pro forma financial information are specified in the JSE Limited (JSE) Listings Requirements and described in note 11 of the condensed consolidated interim financial statements.
The pro forma financial information has been compiled by the directors to illustrate the impact of foreign currency by reflecting a constant currency to the prior period and significant acquisitions and disposals during the period (to reflect results on an organic basis) on certain earnings and cost measures. It also includes core headline earnings and free cash flow which are metrics management consider useful to understand the sustainable operating performance of the group. As part of this process, information about the group's financial performance has been extracted by the directors from the group's condensed consolidated interim financial statements for the six months period ended 30 September 2019, on which a review report has been published.
Directors' responsibility
The directors of the group are responsible for compiling the pro forma financial information on the basis of the applicable criteria specified in the JSE Listings Requirements and described in note 11 of the MultiChoice Group condensed consolidated interim financial statements for the period ended 30 September 2019.
Our independence and quality control
We have complied with the independence and other ethical requirements of sections 290 and 291 of the Independent Regulatory Board for Auditors' Code of Professional Conduct for Registered Auditors (revised January 2018) and parts 1 and 3 of the Independent Regulatory Board for Auditors' Code of Professional Conduct for Registered Auditors (revised November 2018) (together the IRBA Codes), which are founded on fundamental principles of integrity, objectivity, professional competence and due care, confidentiality and professional behaviour. The IRBA Codes are consistent with the corresponding sections of the International Ethics Standards Board for Accountants' Code of Ethics for Professional Accountants and the International Ethics Standards Board for Accountants' International Code of Ethics for Professional Accountants (including International Independence Standards) respectively.
The firm applies International Standard on Quality Control 1 and, accordingly, maintains a comprehensive system of quality control including documented policies and procedures regarding compliance with ethical requirements, professional standards and applicable legal and regulatory requirements.
Reporting accountant's responsibility
Our responsibility is to express an opinion about whether the pro forma financial information has been compiled, in all material respects, by the directors on the basis of the applicable criteria specified in the JSE Listings Requirements and described in note 11 of the condensed consolidated interim financial statements based on our procedures performed.
We conducted our engagement in accordance with the International Standard on Assurance Engagements (ISAE) 3420, Assurance Engagements to Report on the Compilation of Pro Forma Financial Information as issued by the International Auditing and Assurance Standards Board. This standard requires that we plan and perform our procedures to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the pro forma financial information has been compiled, in all material respects, on the basis specified in the JSE Listings Requirements.
For purposes of this engagement, we are not responsible for updating or reissuing any reports or opinions on any financial information used in compiling the pro forma financial information, nor have we, in the course of this engagement, performed an audit or review of the financial information used in compiling the pro forma financial information.
The purpose of pro forma financial information is solely to provide users with relevant information and measures used by the group to assess performance and to illustrate the impact of foreign currency movements and significant acquisitions and disposals on the company's unadjusted financial information of the company as if the event had occurred or the transaction had been undertaken at an earlier date selected for purposes of the illustration. Accordingly, we do not provide any assurance that the actual outcome of the event or transaction would have been as presented.
A reasonable assurance engagement to report on whether the pro forma financial information has been compiled, in all material respects, on the basis of the applicable criteria involves performing procedures to assess whether the applicable criteria used by the directors in the compilation of the pro forma financial information provide a reasonable basis for presenting the significant effects directly attributable to the event or transaction, and to obtain sufficient appropriate evidence about whether:
- The related pro forma adjustments give appropriate effect to those criteria; and
- The pro forma financial information reflects the proper application of those adjustments to the unadjusted financial information.
The procedures selected depend on our judgement, having regard to our understanding of the nature of the company, the event or transaction in respect of which the pro forma financial information has been compiled, and other relevant engagement circumstances.
Our engagement also involves evaluating the overall presentation of the pro forma financial information.
We believe that the evidence we have obtained is sufficient and appropriate to provide a basis for our opinion.
Opinion
In our opinion, the pro forma financial information has been compiled, in all material respects, on the basis of the applicable criteria specified by the JSE Listings Requirements and described on pages 20 and 23 of the condensed consolidated interim financial statements.
PricewaterhouseCoopers Inc.
Director: Brett Stephen Humphreys
Registered auditor
Johannesburg
11 November 2019