About this report

Scope and boundary

We recommended that you read this integrated report in conjunction with the Group's annual financial statements.

Materiality

We strive to only report on those material matters that could have a direct or indirect impact on our ability to create or preserve value for the Group and our stakeholders in the short, medium and long term. We consider a range of internal and external influences when identifying our material matters and, once identified, we prioritise these matters according to the likelihood and potential impact. Finally, we integrate the identified material matters into our strategy. We review our material matters annually.

We identified the following material matters during 2019:

• Healthcare funders
• Cost of care
• Specialised skills shortage
• Increasing regulations
• Quality of care standards
• Labour relations and employee retention
• Government relationships
• Portfolio performance

For more information on our material matters.

Assurance

The Group follows the combined assurance process:

		First line of defence, comprises our operational employees, who are required to completely understand their roles and responsibilities and carry them out correctly and completely.		Our assurance process is applied in the compilation of the integrated report. The board, its committees and management were involved in finalising the report’s disclosures. This report builds on the detailed monthly performance reports compiled and reviewed by management and, as such, management reviews are integral to its overall assurance. The summarised financial information included in this report was extracted from the audited Group annual financial statements. The Group annual financial statements were independently assured by the external auditors, PricewaterhouseCoopers Inc. (PwC). A number of non-financial indicators were assured by PwC. For the selection of indicators and the independent assurance report.. This report in its entirety was not independently assured.
		Second line of defence consisting of our oversight functions, including risk and compliance management. These functions define work practices, monitor adherence to policies, and oversee the first line of defence with regards to risk and compliance.
		Third line of defence, which comprises the internal and external assurance providers and the board. Internal and external auditors regularly review the first and second lines of defence to ensure that they are carrying out their tasks as required. The board mandates the audit committee to review the information provided by various board committees regarding tasks and business information. The board plays an oversight role and is responsible for approving the information reviewed by the audit committee, among others.