We believe that the audit evidence we have obtained is sufficient and appropriate to provide a basis for our audit opinion. Responsibilities of the Board for the financial statements and the performance information The Board is responsible on behalf of the the Human Rights Commission for preparing financial statements and performance information that are fairly presented and comply with generally accepted accounting practice in New Zealand. The Board is responsible for such internal control as it determines is necessary to enable it to prepare financial statements and performance information that are free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error. In preparing the financial statements and the performance information, the Board is responsible on behalf of the Human Rights Commission for assessing the Human Rights Commission’s ability to continue as a going concern. The Board is also responsible for disclosing, as applicable, matters related to going concern and using the going concern basis of accounting, unless there is an intention to merge or to terminate the activities of the Human Rights Commission, or there is no realistic alternative but to do so. The Board’s responsibilities arise from the Crown Entities Act 2004 and the Public Finance Act 1989. Responsibilities of the auditor for the audit of the financial statements and the performance information Our objectives are to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements and the performance information, 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 carried out in accordance with the Auditor-General’s Auditing Standards will always detect a material misstatement when it exists. Misstatements are differences or Annual Report 2018 omissions of amounts or disclosures, and can arise from fraud or error. Misstatements are considered material if, individually or in the aggregate, they could reasonably be expected to influence the decisions of readers, taken on the basis of these financial statements and the performance information. For the budget information reported in the financial statements and the performance information, our procedures were limited to checking that the information agreed to the Human Rights Commission’s statement of performance expectations. We did not evaluate the security and controls over the electronic publication of the financial statements and the performance information. As part of an audit in accordance with the Auditor-General’s Auditing Standards, we exercise professional judgement and maintain professional scepticism throughout the audit. Also: • We identify and assess the risks of material misstatement of the financial statements and the performance information, 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. • We 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 Human Rights Commission’s internal control. • We evaluate the appropriateness of accounting policies used and the reasonableness of accounting estimates and related disclosures made by the Board. • We evaluate the appropriateness of the reported performance information within the Human Rights Commission’s framework for reporting its performance. 79