McDonalds 2015 Annual Report Download - page 52

50 McDonald's Corporation 2015 Annual Report
Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm on Internal Control Over Financial Reporting
The Board of Directors and Shareholders of McDonald’s Corporation
We have audited McDonald's Corporation's 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). McDonald’s Corporation’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 on Management’s Assessment of 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 reasonable 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 evaluating 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.
Because of its inherent limitations, internal control over financial reporting may not prevent or detect misstatements. Also, 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 that the degree of compliance with the policies or procedures may deteriorate.
In our opinion, McDonald’s Corporation maintained, in all material respects, effective internal control over financial reporting as of
December 31, 2015, based on the COSO criteria.
We also have audited, in accordance with the standards of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States), the
consolidated financial statements of McDonald’s Corporation as of December 31, 2015 and 2014 and for each of the three years in the
period ended December 31, 2015, and our report dated February 25, 2016, expressed an unqualified opinion thereon.
ERNST & YOUNG LLP
Chicago, Illinois
February 25, 2016