America Online 2015 Annual Report Download - page 38

Report of Management on Internal Control
Over Financial Reporting
We, the management of Verizon Communications Inc., are responsible
for establishing and maintaining adequate internal control over financial
reporting of the company. Management has evaluated internal control
over financial reporting of the company using the criteria for effective
internal control established in Internal Control–Integrated Framework
issued by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway
Commission in 2013.
Management has assessed the effectiveness of the company’s
internal control over financial reporting as of December31, 2015.
Based on this assessment, we believe that the internal control over
financial reporting of the company is effective as of December31,
2015. In connection with this assessment, there were no material
weaknesses in the company’s internal control over financial reporting
identified by management.
The company’s financial statements included in this Annual Report
have been audited by Ernst & Young LLP, independent registered
public accounting firm. Ernst & Young LLP has also provided
an attestation report on the company’s internal control over
financial reporting.
Lowell C. McAdam
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer
FrancisJ. Shammo
Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer
AnthonyT. Skiadas
Senior Vice President and Controller
Report of Independent Registered
Public Accounting Firm on Internal Control
Over Financial Reporting
To The Board of Directors and Shareowners of
Verizon Communications Inc.:
We have audited Verizon Communications Inc. and subsidiaries’
(Verizon) internal control over financial reporting as of December31,
2015, based on criteria established in Internal Control–Integrated
Framework issued by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations
of the Treadway Commission (2013 framework) (the COSO criteria).
Verizon’s management is responsible for maintaining effective
internal control over financial reporting, and for its assessment of the
effectiveness of internal control over financial reporting included in
the accompanying Report of Management on Internal Control Over
Financial Reporting. Our responsibility is to express an opinion on the
company’s internal control over financial reporting based on our audit.
We conducted our audit in accordance with the standards of the
Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States). Those
standards require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain reason-
able assurance about whether effective internal control over financial
reporting was maintained in all material respects. Our audit included
obtaining an understanding of internal control over financial reporting,
assessing the risk that a material weakness exists, testing and evalu-
ating the design and operating effectiveness of internal control based
on the assessed risk, and performing such other procedures as we
considered necessary in the circumstances. We believe that our audit
provides a reasonable basis for our opinion.
A company’s internal control over financial reporting is a process
designed to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability
of financial reporting and the preparation of financial statements
for external purposes in accordance with generally accepted
accounting principles. A company’s internal control over financial
reporting includes those policies and procedures that (1) pertain to
the maintenance of records that, in reasonable detail, accurately and
fairly reflect the transactions and dispositions of the assets of the
company; (2) provide reasonable assurance that transactions are
recorded as necessary to permit preparation of financial statements
in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles, and
that receipts and expenditures of the company are being made only in
accordance with authorizations of management and directors of the
company; and (3)provide reasonable assurance regarding prevention
or timely detection of unauthorized acquisition, use, or disposition
of the company’s assets that could have a material effect on the
financialstatements.
36 Verizon Communications Inc. and Subsidiaries