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NLGIC SAOG UAE: Independent auditors' report

To the Board Of Directors of National Life and General Insurance Company SAOG - UAE Branches

Published: Thu 18 Apr 2024, 8:59 AM

Report on the Audit of the Financial Statements

Opinion

We have audited the financial statements of National Life and General Insurance Company SAOG - UAE Branches ('the UAE Branches'), which comprise the statement of financial position as of 31 December 2023, the statements of profit or loss and other comprehensive income, changes in head office account and reserves, and cash flows for the year then ended, and notes, comprising material accounting policies and other explanatory information.

In our opinion, the accompanying financial statements present fairly, in all material respects, the financial position of the UAE Branches as of 31 December 2023, and its financial performance and its cash flows for the year then ended in accordance with IFRS Accounting Standards as issued by the International Accounting Standards Board (IFRS Accounting Standards).

Basis for Opinion

We conducted our audit in accordance with International Standards on Auditing (ISAs). Our responsibilities under those standards are further described in the Auditors' Responsibilities for the Audit of the Financial Statements section of our report. We are independent of the UAE Branches in accordance with International Ethics Standards Board for Accountants International Code of Ethics for Professional Accountants (including International Independence Standards) (IESBA Code) together with the ethical requirements that are relevant to our audit of the financial statements in the UAE, and we have fulfilled our other ethical responsibilities in accordance with these requirements and the IESBA Code. We believe that the audit evidence we have obtained is sufficient and appropriate to provide a basis for our opinion.

Responsibilities of Management and Those Charged with Governance for the Financial Statements

Management is responsible for the preparation and fair presentation of the financial statements in accordance with IFRS Accounting Standards and their preparation in compliance with the applicable provisions of the Federal Law No. 48 of 2023, and for such internal control as management determines is necessary to enable the preparation of financial statements that are free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error.

In preparing the financial statements, management is responsible for assessing the UAE Branches' ability to continue as a going concern, disclosing, as applicable, matters related to going concern and using the going concern basis of accounting unless management either intends to liquidate the UAE Branches or to cease operations, or has no realistic alternative but to do so.

Those charged with Governance are responsible for overseeing the UAE Branches' financial reporting process.

Auditors' Responsibilities for the Audit of the Financial Statements

Our objectives are to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements are free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error, and to issue an auditors' 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 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 based on these financial statements.

As part of an audit in accordance with ISAs, we exercise professional judgment and maintain professional skepticism 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 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 UAE Branches’ internal control.
  • Evaluate the appropriateness of accounting policies used and the reasonableness of accounting estimates and related disclosures made by management.
  • Conclude on the appropriateness of management’s use of the going concern basis of accounting and, based on the audit evidence obtained, whether a material uncertainty exists related to events or conditions that may cast significant doubt on the UAE Branches’ ability to continue as a going concern. If we conclude that a material uncertainty exists, we are required to draw attention in our auditors’ report to the related disclosures in the financial statements 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 auditors’ report. However, future events or conditions may cause the UAE Branches to cease to continue as a going concern.

Auditors' Responsibilities for the Audit of the Financial Statements (continued)

Evaluate the overall presentation, structure and content of the financial statements, including the disclosures, and whether the financial statements represent the underlying transactions and events in a manner that achieves fair presentation.

We communicate with those charged with governance regarding, among other matters, the planned scope and timing of the audit and significant audit findings, including any significant deficiencies in internal control that we identify during our audit.

Report on Other Legal and Regulatory Requirements

Further, as required by the Federal Law No. 48 of 2023, we report that we have obtained all the information and explanations we considered necessary for the purposes of our audit.