SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION
Independent Assurance Report - Sustainability
Ernst & Young
Chartered Accountants
Rotunda Towers
No. 109, Galle Road
P.O. Box 101
Colombo 03, Sri Lanka
Chartered Accountants
Rotunda Towers
No. 109, Galle Road
P.O. Box 101
Colombo 03, Sri Lanka
Tel : +94 11 246 3500
Fax : +94 11 768 7869
Email: eysl@lk.ey.com
ey.com
Fax : +94 11 768 7869
Email: eysl@lk.ey.com
ey.com
Scope
We have been engaged by Bank of Ceylon to perform a 'limited assurance engagement,' as defined
by Sri Lanka Standard on Assurance Engagements, here after referred to as the engagement, to
report on Bank of Ceylon's Economic, Environment, Social and Governance (EESG) indicators (the
"Subject Matter") contained in Bank of Ceylon's (the "Entity's") Integrated Annual Report for
the year ended 31 December 2024 (the "Report").
Other than as described in the preceding paragraph, which sets out the scope of our engagement,
we did not perform assurance procedures on the remaining information included in the Report, and
accordingly, we do not express a conclusion on this information.
Criteria applied by Bank of Ceylon
In preparing the Subject Matter, Bank of Ceylon applied the following criteria ("Criteria"):
The Global Reporting Initiative's (GRI) Sustainability Reporting Guidelines, publicly available
at https://www.globalreporting.org
Such Criteria were specifically designed for the purpose of assisting you in determining whether
Entity's Economic, Environment, Social and Governance (EESG) indicators contained in the
Entity's Report is presented in accordance with the relevant criteria; As a result, the subject
matter information may not be suitable for another purpose.
Bank of Ceylon's responsibilities
Bank of Ceylon management is responsible for selecting the Criteria, and for presenting the
Subject Matter in accordance with that Criteria, in all material respects. This responsibility
includes establishing and maintaining internal controls, maintaining
adequate records and making
estimates that are relevant to the preparation of the subject matter, such that it is free from
material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error.
Ernst & Young's responsibilities
Our responsibility is to express a conclusion on the presentation of the Subject Matter based on
the evidence we have obtained.
We conducted our engagement in accordance with the Sri Lanka Standard for Assurance Engagements
Other Than Audits or Reviews of Historical Financial Information (SLSAE 3000 (Revised), and the
terms of reference for this engagement as agreed with the Bank of Ceylon on 12 March 2025. Those
standards require that we plan and perform our engagement to express a conclusion on whether we
are aware of any material modifications that need to be made to the Subject Matter in order for
it to be in accordance with the Criteria, and to issue a report.
The nature, timing, and extent of the procedures selected depend on our judgment, including an
assessment of the risk of material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error.
We believe that the evidence obtained is sufficient and appropriate to provide a basis for our
limited assurance conclusions.
Our independence and quality management
We have maintained our independence and confirm that we have met the requirements of the Code of
Ethics for Professional Accountants issued by the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Sri
Lanka (CA Sri Lanka) and have the required competencies and experience to conduct this assurance
engagement.
EY also applies International Standard on Quality Management 1, Quality Management for Firms
that Perform Audits or Reviews of Financial Statements, or Other Assurance or Related Services
engagements, which requires that we design, implement and operate a system of quality management
including policies or procedures regarding compliance with ethical requirements, professional
standards and applicable legal and regulatory requirements.
Description of procedures performed
Procedures performed in a limited assurance engagement vary in nature and
timing from and are less in extent than for a reasonable assurance engagement. Consequently, the
level of assurance obtained in a limited assurance engagement is substantially lower than the
assurance that would have been obtained had a reasonable assurance engagement been performed.Our
procedures were designed to obtain a limited level of assurance on which to base our conclusion
and do not provide all the evidence that would be required to provide a reasonable level of
assurance.
Although we considered the effectiveness
of management’s internal controls when
determining the nature and extent of our
procedures, our assurance engagement
was not designed to provide assurance
on internal controls. Our procedures did
not include testing controls or performing
procedures relating to checking aggregation
or calculation of data within IT systems.
A limited assurance engagement consists
of making enquiries, primarily of persons
responsible for preparing the subject matter
and related information and applying
analytical and other appropriate procedures.
Our procedures included:
Validated the information presented and checked the calculations performed by the organization through recalculation.
Partners: D K Hulangamuwa FCA FCMA LLB (London), A P A Gunasekera FCA FCMA, Ms. Y A
De Silva FCA, Ms. G G S Manatunge FCA, W A B S P Fernando FCA FCMA, B E Wijesuriva FCA FCMA, R N de
Saram ACA FCMA, Ms. N A De Silva FCA, N M Sulaiman FCA FCMA, Ms. L K H L Fonseka FCA, Ms. P V K N
Sajeewani FCA, A A J R Perera FCA ACMA, A Y R De Almeida FCA FCMA, D N Gamage ACA ACMA, C A
Vaidyathilake ACA ACMA, B Vasanthan ACA ACMA
Principals: T P M Ruberu FCMA FCCA MBA (USA SL), G B Goonatilake ACMA, Ms. P S Paranawithana ACA ACMA LLB (Colombo), D L B Kuruthilake ACMA, W S J De Silva Bsc (Hons) - MIS Msc - IT, V Shaanthiran B.Com (Sp), W D P L Perera ACA
A member firm of Ernst & Young Global Limited
Principals: T P M Ruberu FCMA FCCA MBA (USA SL), G B Goonatilake ACMA, Ms. P S Paranawithana ACA ACMA LLB (Colombo), D L B Kuruthilake ACMA, W S J De Silva Bsc (Hons) - MIS Msc - IT, V Shaanthiran B.Com (Sp), W D P L Perera ACA
A member firm of Ernst & Young Global Limited
Performed a comparison of the content given in the Report against the criteria given in the
selected sustainability standards/frameworks.
Conducted interviews with relevant organization's personnel to understand the process for
collection, analysis, aggregation and presentation of data. Interviews included selected key
management personnel and relevant staff.
Read the content presented in the Report for consistency with our overall knowledge obtained
during the course of our assurance engagement and requested changes wherever required.
Provided guidance, recommendations and feedback on the improvement of the sustainability
reporting indicators to improve the presentation standard.
We also performed such other procedures as we considered necessary in the circumstances.
Emphasis of matter
Economic, Environment, Social management data/information are subject to inherent
limitations given their nature and the methods used for determining, calculating and
estimating such data. Such inherent limitations are common in Sri Lanka.
We also do not provide any assurance on the assumptions and achievability of prospective
information presented in the Entity's Report.
Conclusion
Based on our procedures and the evidence obtained, we are not aware of any material
modifications that should be made to the information on the Economic, Environment, Social
and Governance (EESG) contained in the Integrated Annual Report of Bank of Ceylon for the
year ended 31 December 2024, in order for it to be in accordance with the Criteria.
25 March 2025
Colombo
Colombo