118 Vodafone Group Plc Annual Report 2025
Strategic report
Governance
Financials
Other information
Directors’ statement of responsibility continued
Cash flow and liquidity reviews The business planning process provides outputs for detailed cash flow and liquidity reviews, to ensure that the Group maintains adequate liquidity throughout the forecast periods. The prime output is a liquidity forecast that is prepared and updated at least on a monthly basis, which highlights the extent of the Group’s liquidity based on controlled cash flows and the headroom under the Group’s undrawn revolving credit facility. The key inputs into this forecast are: – Cash flow forecasts with information taken from the business planning process; – Bond and other debt maturities; – Completion of committed M&A transactions; and – Expectations for shareholder returns and spectrum auctions. The liquidity forecast is reviewed by the Group Chief Financial Officer and included in each of the reports to the Board. In addition, the Group continues to manage its foreign exchange and interest rate risks within the framework of policies and guidelines authorised and reviewed by the Board, with Treasury risk management oversight provided by the responsible committee with its members receiving management information relating to treasury activities on a quarterly basis.
Controls over financial reporting Management is responsible for establishing and maintaining adequate internal control over financial reporting for the Group. The Group’s internal control over financial reporting includes policies and procedures that: – Pertain to the maintenance of records that, in reasonable detail, accurately and fairly reflect transactions and dispositions of assets; – Are designed to provide reasonable assurance that transactions are recorded as necessary to permit the preparation of financial statements in accordance with UK-adopted IAS, with IFRS as issued by the IASB and with the requirements of the Act, and that receipts and expenditures are being made only in accordance with authorisation of management and the Directors of the Company; and – Provide reasonable assurance regarding prevention or timely detection of unauthorised acquisition, use or disposition of the Group’s assets that could have a material effect on the financial statements. During the year covered by this report, there were no changes in the Group’s internal control over financial reporting that have materially affected or are reasonably likely to materially affect the effectiveness of the internal controls over financial reporting.
The Directors have also considered sensitivities in respect of potential downside scenarios in concluding that the Group is able to continue in operation for the period to 30 June 2026 from the date of approving the consolidated financial statements. These sensitivities include the non-refinancing of debt maturities, A reverse stress test was reviewed to understand how severe conditions would have to be to breach liquidity, including a required reduction in profitability metrics compared to current performance and forecasts. The availability of the Group’s €7.8 billion undrawn revolving credit facilities as at 31 March 2025 was also considered by the Directors. The Directors also considered the findings of the work performed to support the statement on the long-term viability of the Group. As noted on page 59 , this included key changes to relevant principal risks in light of global economic and political uncertainty, sensitivity analysis, scenario assessments, and combinations of these, over the viability assessment period. Conclusion Based on the review, the Directors have a reasonable expectation that the Company and the Group have adequate resources to continue in operational existence for the foreseeable future. Accordingly, the Directors continue to adopt the going concern basis in preparing the Annual Report and Accounts.
Any internal control framework, no matter how well designed, has inherent limitations including the possibility of human error and the circumvention or overriding of the controls and procedures, and may not prevent or detect misstatements. Furthermore, projections of any evaluation of effectiveness to future periods are subject to the risk that controls may become inadequate because of changes in conditions or because the degree of compliance with the policies or procedures may deteriorate. By order of the Board Maaike de Bie Group General Counsel and Company Secretary 3 June 2025
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