Walmart 2008 Annual Report Download - page 52

Management of Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (“Wal-Mart” or the “Company”) is
responsible for the preparation, integrity and objectivity of Wal-Mart’s
Consolidated Financial Statements and other nancial information
contained in this Annual Report to Shareholders. Those Consolidated
Financial Statements were prepared in conformity with accounting
principles generally accepted in the United States. In preparing those
Consolidated Financial Statements, management was required to make
certain estimates and judgments, which are based upon currently
available information and management’s view of current conditions
and circumstances.
The Audit Committee of the Board of Directors, which consists solely
of independent directors, oversees our process of reporting nancial
information and the audit of our Consolidated Financial Statements.
The Audit Committee stays informed of the nancial condition of
Wal-Mart and regularly reviews management’s nancial policies and
procedures, the independence of our independent auditors, our
internal control and the objectivity of our nancial reporting. Both the
independent auditors and the internal auditors have free access to
the Audit Committee and meet with the Audit Committee periodi-
cally, both with and without management present.
Acting through our Audit Committee, we have retained Ernst &
Young LLP, an independent registered public accounting firm, to
audit our Consolidated Financial Statements found in this Annual
Report. We have made available to Ernst & Young LLP all of our nan-
cial records and related data in connection with their audit of our
Consolidated Financial Statements. We have led with the Securities
and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) the required certications related
to our Consolidated Financial Statements as of and for the year
ended January 31, 2008. These certications are attached as exhibits
to our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended January 31,
2008. Additionally, we have also provided to the New York Stock
Exchange the required annual certication of our Chief Executive
Ocer regarding our compliance with the New York Stock Exchange’s
corporate governance listing standards.
Report on Internal Control Over Financial Reporting
Management has responsibility for establishing and maintaining
adequate internal control over nancial reporting. Internal control
over nancial reporting is a process designed to provide reasonable
assurance regarding the reliability of nancial reporting and the
preparation of nancial statements for external reporting purposes
in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the
United States. Because of its inherent limitations, internal control
over nancial reporting may not prevent or detect misstatements.
Management has assessed the eectiveness of the Company’s inter-
nal control over nancial reporting as of January 31, 2008. In making
its assessment, management has utilized the criteria set forth by the
Committee of Sponsoring Organizations (“COSO”) of the Treadway
Commission in Internal Control–Integrated Framework. Management
concluded that based on its assessment, Wal-Mart’s internal control
over nancial reporting was eective as of January 31, 2008. The
Company’s internal control over nancial reporting as of January 31,
2008, has been audited by Ernst & Young LLP, an independent regis-
tered public accounting rm, as stated in their report which appears
in this Annual Report to Shareholders.
Management’s assessment of the eectiveness of the Company’s
internal control over nancial reporting excluded BCL, of which the
Company had the right to control a majority of BCL’s shares during
scal 2008. This entity represented, in the aggregate, 1.1% and 0.4%
of consolidated total assets and consolidated net sales, respectively,
of the Company as of and for the year ended January 31, 2008. This
acquisition is more fully discussed in Note 6 to our Consolidated
Financial Statements for scal 2008. Under guidelines established by
the SEC, companies are allowed to exclude acquisitions from their
rst assessment of internal control over nancial reporting following
the date of the acquisition.
Evaluation of Disclosure Controls and Procedures
We maintain disclosure controls and procedures designed to provide
reasonable assurance that information required to be timely disclosed
is accumulated and communicated to management in a timely fash-
ion. Management has assessed the eectiveness of these disclosure
controls and procedures as of January 31, 2008, and determined they
were eective as of that date to provide reasonable assurance that
information required to be disclosed by us in the reports we le or
submit under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, was
accumulated and communicated to management, as appropriate, to
allow timely decisions regarding required disclosure and were eective
to provide reasonable assurance that such information is recorded,
processed, summarized and reported within the time periods speci-
ed by the SEC’s rules and forms.
Report on Ethical Standards
Our Company was founded on the belief that open communications
and the highest standards of ethics are necessary to be successful.
Our long-standing “Open Door” communication policy helps man-
agement be aware of and address issues in a timely and eective
manner. Through the open door policy all associates are encouraged
to inform management at the appropriate level when they are con-
cerned about any matter pertaining to Wal-Mart.
Wal-Mart has adopted a Statement of Ethics to guide our associates in
the continued observance of high ethical standards such as honesty,
integrity and compliance with the law in the conduct of Wal-Mart’s
business. Familiarity and compliance with the Statement of Ethics is
required of all associates who are part of management. The Company
also maintains a separate Code of Ethics for our senior nancial ocers.
Wal-Mart also has in place a Related-Party Transaction Policy. This
policy applies to Wal-Mart’s senior ocers and directors and requires
material related-party transactions to be reviewed by the Audit Com-
mittee. The senior ocers and directors are required to report material
related-party transactions to Wal-Mart. We maintain an ethics oce
which oversees and administers an ethics hotline. The ethics hotline
provides a channel for associates to make condential and anonymous
complaints regarding potential violations of our statements of ethics,
including violations related to nancial or accounting matters.
H. Lee Scott, Jr.
President and Chief Executive Ocer
Thomas M. Schoewe
Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Ocer
50 WAL-MART 2008 ANNUAL REPORT
Management’s Report to Our Shareholders