As required by the Companies Act, 1965 and the Banking and Financial Institutions Act, 1989, Financial Statements for each financial year are prepared in accordance with the Malaysian Accounting Standards Board’s (MASB) Approved Accounting Standards and the BNM Guidelines. The Financial Statements give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the Group as at 31 December 2008.

Appropriate accounting policies have been consistently applied in presenting the Financial Statements, supported by prudent judgement and estimates prepared on going concern basis. The Directors ensure that financial reporting presents a balanced and comprehensible assessment of the Group’s financial position and prospects in all its reports to the shareholders, investment community and regulatory authorities. The Directors’ Statement of Responsibility for preparing the financial statements is prepared together with the Group’s audited financial statements.

The Audit Committee assists the Board in overseeing the financial reporting process. The Group’s quarterly, half-yearly and annual Financial Statements are reviewed by the Audit Committee prior to submission to BNM within the stipulated time frame, and approved by the Board prior to release to Bursa Securities.

In preparing the financial statements, the Directors have ensured that accounting standards approved by the MASB in Malaysia and the provisions of the Companies Act, 1965 have been complied with and reasonable and prudent judgements and estimates have been made. The Directors have also overall responsibilities for taking such steps as are reasonably open to them to safeguard the assets of the Group and for the implementation and continued operation of adequate accountings and internal control systems for the prevention and detection of fraud and other irregularities.

The Board is satisfied that it has met its obligation to present a balanced and understandable assessment of BCHB’s position and prospects in the Directors’ Report as set out on in the financial statements from of the Annual Report.

The Board has overall responsibility for maintaining sound internal control systems that cover financial controls, effective and efficient operations, compliance with laws and regulations as well as risk management. The size and complexity of the Group necessitate the managing of a wide and diverse spectrum of risks. The nature of these risks means that events may occur which would give rise to unanticipated or unavoidable losses. The inherent system of internal controls is designed to provide a reasonable though not absolute assurance against the risk of material errors, fraud or losses occurring. The Statement on Internal Control which provides an overview of the state of internal control is set out in the Annual Report.