DIRECTORS’ RESPONSIBILITY  
FOR FINANCIAL REPORTING

This Statement by the Board of Directors 
is made especially to distinguish 
the respective responsibilities of the 
Directors and Auditors in relation to 
financial reporting. The responsibility of 
Directors in relation to financial reporting 
of the Bank of Ceylon and the Group is 
set out in the following statement.

Financial statements

In terms of the provisions of Bank of 
Ceylon Ordinance No. 53 of 1938 and its 
amendments read with the Banking Act 
No. 30 of 1988 and its amendments and 
Directions, the Directors of the Bank are 
responsible for ensuring that the Bank 
maintains proper books of accounts, 
which disclose with reasonable accuracy 
at any time, the financial position of 
the Bank and prepares proper Financial 
Statements for each financial year, giving 
a true and fair view of the state of affairs 
of the Bank.

The Directors affirm that in preparing 
the Financial Statements for the year 
2023 presented in this Annual Report, 
the most appropriate accounting policies 
have been used and applied consistently 
supported by judgments and estimates 
that are reasonable and prudent. Material 
departures, if any, have been disclosed 
and explained.

The Financial Statements for the year 
2023 presented in this Annual Report, 
are in conformity with the requirements 
of the Bank of Ceylon Ordinance No. 53 
of 1938 and its amendments, Banking 
Act No. 30 of 1988 and its amendments 
and Directions issued under it, the Sri 
Lanka Accounting Standards and other 
regulatory requirements. These Financial 
Statements reflect a true and fair view of 
the state of affairs of the Bank of Ceylon 
and the Group as at 31 December 2023.

Going concern

The Directors are of the view that the 
Bank and the Group have adequate 
resources to continue in business in the 

foreseeable future. Accordingly, they 
have continued to adopt the going 
concern basis in preparing the Financial 
Statements.

Internal controls, risk management 

and compliance

The Directors are also responsible for the 
system of internal financial controls and 
risk management and place considerable 
importance on maintaining a strong 
control environment to protect and 
safeguard the Bank’s assets and prevent 
fraud and mismanagement.

Whilst inherent and residual risks cannot 
be completely eliminated, the Bank 
endeavors to minimise them by ensuring 
that appropriate infrastructure, controls, 
systems and ethical behavior are applied 
and practiced within predetermined 
procedures and limits/ boundaries.

A report by the Directors on the Bank’s 
internal control mechanism, confirming 
that the financial reporting system has 
been designed to provide reasonable 
assurance regarding the reliability of 
financial reporting, is given on pages 156 
and 157 of this Annual Report.

The Directors and Management have put 
in place, risk management policies and 
guidelines. Management committees 
have been established to monitor and 
manage material risks. Arrangements 
are in place to ensure that monthly 
reports on risk are submitted to the 
Integrated Risk Management Committee 
for review and discussion. Compliance 
with applicable laws, regulations, rules, 
directives and guidelines are monitored 
by the Independent Integrated Risk 
Management Division and reported to 
the Board.

The Audit Committee and Integrated 
Risk Management Committee, on an 
ongoing basis, have acted to strengthen 
the effectiveness of internal controls 
and risk management procedures. The 

reports of the Audit Committee and 
Integrated Risk Management Committee 
are included on pages 122 to 125 of this 
Annual Report.

Audit report

Pursuant to provisions of Article 154 
of the Constitution of the Democratic 
Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, the 
Auditor General is the Auditor of the 
Bank and issues the final opinion on the 
Financial Statements of the Bank. The 
responsibilities of the Auditor in relation 
to the Financial Statements are set out 
in the Report of the Auditor General on 
pages 160 to 164 of this Annual Report. 
The Auditor General’s certification on 
the effectiveness of the Bank’s internal 
control mechanism is given on page 158 
of this Annual Report.

Compliance

The Directors to the best of their 
knowledge and belief, are satisfied 
that all statutory payments, in relation 
to all relevant regulatory and statutory 
authorities, which were due and payable 
by the Bank and its subsidiaries as at 
the Statement of Financial Position 
date, have been paid or where relevant 
provided for.

The Directors are of the view that they 
have discharged their responsibilities as 
set out in this statement.

By order of the Board,

Janaki Senanayake Siriwardane 
Secretary Bank of Ceylon/ Secretary to 
the Board

03 April 2024 
Colombo