Walmart 2011 Annual Report Download - page 57

Walmart 2011 Annual Report 55
The Board of Directors and Shareholders of Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.
We have audited Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.’s internal control over nancial
reporting as of January 31, 2011, based on criteria established in Internal
Control – Integrated Framework issued by the Committee of Sponsoring
Organizations of the Treadway Commission (the COSO criteria). Wal-Mart
Stores, Inc.’s management is responsible for maintaining eective internal
control over nancial reporting, and for its assessment of the eectiveness
of internal control over nancial reporting included in the accom panying
“Management’s Report to Our Shareholders.” Our responsibility is to express
an opinion on the Company’s internal control over nancial 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 eective internal control over nancial reporting was
maintained in all material respects. Our audit included obtaining an
understanding of internal control over nancial reporting, assessing the
risk that a material weakness exists, testing and evaluating the design
and operating eectiveness 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 nancial reporting is a process designed
to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of nancial
reporting and the preparation of nancial 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 reect the transactions and dispositions of the
assets of the company; (2) provide reasonable assurance that transactions
are recorded as necessary to permit preparation of nancial 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 eect on the nancial statements.
Because of its inherent limitations, internal control over nancial reporting
may not prevent or detect misstatements. Also, projections of any
evaluation of eectiveness 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, Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. maintained, in all material respects,
eective internal control over nancial reporting as of January 31, 2011,
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
balance sheets of Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. as of January 31, 2011 and 2010,
and related consolidated statements of income, shareholders’ equity
and cash ows for each of the three years in the period ended January 31,
2011 and our report dated March 30, 2011 expressed an unqualied
opinion thereon.
Rogers, Arkansas
March 30, 2011
Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm
on Internal Control Over Financial Reporting