Walmart 2016 Annual Report Download - page 63

61Only Walmart
The Board of Directors and Shareholders of Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.
We have audited Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.’s internal control over financial
reporting as of January 31, 2016, 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). Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.’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 “Management’s Report to Our Shareholders.” 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, Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. maintained, in all material respects,
effective internal control over financial reporting as of January 31, 2016,
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, 2016 and 2015,
and related consolidated statements of income, comprehensive income,
shareholders’ equity and redeemable noncontrolling interest, and cash
flows for each of the three years in the period ended January 31, 2016 and
our report dated March 30, 2016 expressed an unqualified opinion thereon.
Rogers, Arkansas
March 30, 2016
Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm
on Internal Control over Financial Reporting