Walmart 2014 Annual Report Download - page 63

Walmart 2014 Annual Report 61
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, 2014, based on criteria established in Internal
Control-Integrated Framework issued by the Committee of Sponsoring
Organizations of the Treadway Commission (1992 framework) (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 accompanying “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 nancial 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, 2014,
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, 2014 and 2013,
and related consolidated statements of income, comprehensive income,
shareholders’ equity and cash ows for each of the three years in the
period ended January 31, 2014 and our report dated March 21, 2014
expressed an unqualied opinion thereon.
Rogers, Arkansas
March 21, 2014
Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm
on Internal Control Over Financial Reporting