The Northern Ireland Agricultural Research and Development Council TIA Agrisearch Company Limited by Guarantee Independent Auditor's Report to the Members of The Northern Ireland Agricultural Research and Development Council TIA Agrisearch Year ended 31 March 2024 Opinion We have audited the financial statements of The Northern Ireland Agricultural Research and Development Council TIA Agrisearch (Ihe 'charity') for the year ended 31 March 2024 which comprise the slatement of financial activities (including income and expenditure account). statement of financial position, statement of cash flows and the related notes, including a summary of significant accounting policies. The financial reporting framework that has been applied in their preparation is applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards, including FRS 102 The Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland {United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice). In our opinion the financial statements.. give a true and fair view of the state ofthe charity's affairs as at 31 March 2024 and of its incoming resources and application of resources. including its income and expenditure, for the year then ended.. have been properly prepared in accordance with United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice., have been prepared in accordance with the requirements of the Companies Act 2006 and the Charities Act (Northern Ireland) 2008. Basis for opinion We conducted our audit in accordance with International Standards on Auditing (UK) (ISAS (UK)) and applicable law. Our responsibilities under those standards are further described in the auditor's responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements section of our report. We are independent of the charity in accordance with the ethical requirements that are relevant to our audit of the financial statements in the UK, including the FRC'S Ethical Standard. and we have fulfilled our other ethical responsibilities in accordance with these requirements. We believe that the audit evidence we have obtained is sufficient and appropriate to provide a basis for our opinion. Conclusions relating to going concern In auditing the financial statements. we have concluded thatthe trustees, use of the going Goncern basis of accounting in the preparation of the financial statements is appropriate. Based on the work we have perfomied, we have not identified any material uncertainties relating to events or conditions that, individually or collectively, may cast significant doubt on the charity's ability to continue as a going concern for a period of at least twelve months from when the financial slalements are authorised for issue. Our responsibilities and the responsibilitie5 of the trustees wilh respect to going concern are described in the relevant sections of this report. 16
The Northern Ireland Agricultural Research and Development Council TIA Agrisearch Company Limited by Guarantee Independent Auditor's Report to the Members of The Northern Ireland Agricultural Research and Development Council TIA Agrisearch {contlnuedJ Year ended 31 March 2024 Other information The other information Gomprises the information included in the annual report, other than the financial statements and our auditor's report thereon. The trustees are responsible for the other information. Our opinion on the financial statements does not cover the other information and, except to the extent othetwisè explicitly ststed in our report, we do not express any form of assurance conclusion thereon. In connection with our audit of the financial statements, our responsibility is to read the other information and, in doing so. consider whether the other information is materially inconsistent with the financial statements or our knowledge obtained in the audit or othemise appears to be materially misstated. If we identify such material inconsistencies or apparent material misstalements. we are required to determine whether there is a material misslatement in the financial slatements or a material misstatement of the other information. If, based on the work we have performed, we Conclude that there is a material misstatement of this other information. we are required to report that fact. We have nothing to report in this regard. Opinlons on other matters prescrlbed by the Companies Act 2006 In our opinion, based on the work undertaken in the course of the audit: the information given in the trustees, report for the financial year for which the financial statements are prepared is consistent with the financial statements. and the trustees, report has been prepared in accordance with applicable legal requirements. Matters on whlch we are required to report by exception In the light of the knowledge and understanding of the charity and its environment obtained in the course of the audit, we have not identified material misstatements in the trustees, report. We have nothing to report in respect of the following matters in relation to which the Companies Act 2006 and the Charities Act (Northem Ireland) 2008 requires us to report to you if. in our opinion: adequate accounting records have not been kept, or returns adequate for our audit have not been received from branches not visited by us., or the financial statements are not in agreement with th& accounting records and returns. or certain disclosures of trustees, remuneration specif16d by law are not made; or we have not received all the information and explanations we require for our audit. 17
The Northern Ireland Agricultural Research and Development Council TIA Agrisearch Company Limited by Guarantee Independent Auditor's Report to the Members of The Northern Ireland Agricultural Research and Development Council TIA Agrisearch (¢ontinuedJ Year ended 31 March 2024 Responsibilities of trustees As explained more fully in the Irustees. responsibilities statement, the trustees (who are also the directors for the purposes of company law) are responsible forthe preparation ofthe financial statements and for being satisfied that they give a true and fair view, and for such internal control as the trustees determine is neGessary to enable the preparation of financial statements that are free from material misstatement. whether due to fraud or error. In preparing the financial statements, the trustees are responsible for assessing the charity's ability to continue as a going concern. disclosing, as applicable, matters related to going Goncern and using the going concern basis of accounting unless the trustees either intend to liquidate the ¢harity or to cease operations, or have no realistic alternative but to do so. 18
The Northern Ireland Agricultural Research and Development Council TIA Agrisearch Company Limited by Guarantee Independent Auditor's Report to the Members of The Northern Ireland Agricultural Research and Development Council TIA Agrisearch (continued) Year ended 31 March 2024 Auditorfs responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements Our objectives are lo 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 misstatementwhen il 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 lak&n on the basis of these financial statements. Irregularities, including fraud, are instances of non-compliance with laws and regulations. We design procedures in line with our responsibilities, outlined above, to detect material misstatements in respect of irregularities, including fraud. The extent to which our procedures are capable of detecling irregularities. including fraud is detailed below.. Our approach to identifying and assessing the risks of material misstatement in respect of irregularities. including fraud and non-compliance with laws and regulations, was as follows: the engagement partner ensured that the engagement team collectively had the appropriate ¢ompetence. capabilities and skills to identify or recognise non-compliance with applicable laws and regulations- we identified the laws and regulations applicable to the company through discussions with trustees and other management", we assessed the extent of compliance with the laws and regulations identified above through making enquiries of management and inspecting legal correspondence,. and identified laws and regulations were communicated within the audit team regularly and the team remained alert to instances of non-compliance throughout the audit. We assessed the susceptibility of the company's financial statements to material misstatement, including obtaining an understanding of how fraud might occur. by- making enquiries of management as to where they considered there was susceptibility to fraud, their knowledge of actual. suspeGted and alleged fraud; and considering the internal controls in place to mitigate risks of fraud and non-compliance with laws and regulations. To address the risk of fraud through managem6nt bias and override of controls, we: performed analyiical procedures to identify any unusual or unexpected relationships., tested journal entries to identify unusual transactions; and assessed whether judgements and assumptions made in determining the accounting estimates set out in nota 3 were indicative of potential bias. In response to the risk of irregularities and non-¢ompliance with laws and regulations. we designed 19
The Northern Ireland Agricultural Research and Development Council TIA Agrisearch Company Limited by Guarantee Independent Auditor's Report to the Members of The Northern Ireland Agricultural Research and Development Council TIA Agrisearch (Gontlnuod) Year ended 31 March 2024 procedures which included, but were not limited to: agreeing financial statement disclosures to underlying supporting documentation; reading the minutes of meetings of those ¢harged with governance., and enquiring of management as to actual and potèntial litigation and claims. There are inherent limitations in our audit procedures described above. The more removed that laws and regulations are from financial transactions, the less likely it is that we would become aware of non- compliance. Auditing standards also limit the audit procedures required to identify non-compliance with laws and regulations to enquiry of the directors and other management and the inspection of regulatory and legal correspondence, if any. Material misstatements that arise due to fraud can be harder to detect than those that arise from error as they may involve deliberate concealment or collusion. As part of an audit in accordance with ISAS {UK), we exercise professional judgment and maintain professional scepticism throughout the audit. We also: Identify and assess the risks of material misstatement of the financial statements, whether due to fraud or error. design and perform audit procedures responsive to those risks, and oblain 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, misrepresentation5. or the override of internal control. Obtain an understanding of internal ¢ontrol 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 internal Conlrol. Evaluate the appropriateness of accounting policies used and the reasonableness of accounting estimates and related disclosures made by the trustees. Conclude on the appropriateness of the trustees, use of the going concern basis of accounting and. based on the audit evidence obtained, whether a material uncertainty exists related lo events or conditions that may cast significant doubt on the Charity's ability to continue a5 a going concern. If we con¢lude that a material uncertainty exists, we are required to draw attenlion in our auditor's report to the related disclosures in the financial statement5 or, if such disclosures are inadequate. to modify our opinion. Our conclusions are based on the audit evidence obtained up to the date of our auditor's report. However. future events or conditions may cause the charity to cease to continue as a going concern. Evaluate the overall presentation, structure and content of the financial statements. including the disclosures, and whetherthefinancial statements representthe underlying transactions and events in a manner that achieves fair presentation. 20
The Northern Ireland Agricultural Research and Development Council TIA Agrisearch Company Limited by Guarantee Independent Auditor's Report to the Members of The Northern Ireland Agricultural Research and Development Council TIA Agrisearch (¢ontinued) Year ended 31 March 2024 We communicate with those charged wilh govemance regarding, among other matters, the planned scope and timing of the audit and significant audit findings. including any significant deficiencies in intemal control that we identify during our audit. Use of our report This report is made solely to the charity's members. as a body, in accordance with section 65 of the Charities Act (Northem Ireland) 2008. Our audil work has been undertaken so that we might stale to the charity's members those matters we are required to stat8 to them in an auditor's report and for no other purpose. To the fullest extent permitted by law, we do not accept or assume responsibility to anyone other than the charity and the charity's members as a body, for our audit work. for this report, or for the opini s we have formed. John Sen r Statutory Audilor) Fora alf y Campb Chartered accoun 631 Lisbum Road Belfast BT9 7GT Company ants & statutory auditor 21