HUMAN RIGHT COMMISSION OF SRI LANKA - Annual report 2020 1.3 Responsibilities of Chief Accounting Officer for the Financial Statements ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------The Chief Accounting Officer is responsible for the preparation of financial statements that give a true and fair view in accordance with generally accepted Accounting Principles and provisions in Section 38 of the National Audit Act, No.19 of 2018 and for such internal control as management determine is necessary to enable the preparation of financial statements that are free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error. As per Sub-section 16(1) of the National Audit Act No. 19 of 2018, the Commission is required to maintain proper books and records of all its income, expenditure, assets and liabilities, to enable annual and periodic financial statements to be prepared. As per Sub-section 38 (1) (c) of the National Audit Act, the Chief Accounting Officer shall ensure that effective internal control system for the financial control of the Commission exists, and carry out periodic reviews to monitor the effectiveness of such systems and accordingly make any altercations as required for such systems to be effectively carried out. 1.4 Auditor’s Responsibilities for the Audit of the Financial Statements ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------My objective is to 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 my opinion. Reasonable assurance is a high level of assurance, but is not a guarantee that an audit conducted in accordance with Sri Lanka Auditing Standards 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 on the basis of these financial statements. As part of an audit in accordance with Sri Lanka Auditing Standards, I exercise professional judgment and maintain professional scepticism throughout the audit. I 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 my 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. 109