ADT 2009 Annual Report Download - page 161

Item 9. Changes in and Disagreements with Accountants on Accounting and Financial Disclosure
None.
Item 9A. Controls and Procedures
Conclusion Regarding the Effectiveness of Disclosure Controls and Procedures
We maintain disclosure controls and procedures that are designed to provide reasonable assurance
that information required to be disclosed in our Exchange Act reports is recorded, processed,
summarized and reported within the time periods specified in the Securities and Exchange
Commission’s rules and forms, and that such information is accumulated and communicated to our
management, including our Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer, as appropriate, to
allow timely decisions regarding required disclosure.
Under the supervision and with the participation of our management, including our Chief
Executive Officer and our Chief Financial Officer, we conducted an evaluation of the effectiveness of
our disclosure controls and procedures, as defined under Exchange Act Rule 13a-15(e). Based on this
evaluation, our Chief Executive Officer and our Chief Financial Officer concluded that, as of
September 25, 2009, our disclosure controls and procedures were effective to provide reasonable
assurance that information required to be disclosed in our Exchange Act reports is recorded, processed,
summarized and reported as and when required.
We have made significant systems and process improvements in our tax accounting processes
through fiscals 2008 and 2009 and in the fourth quarter of 2009, management conducted extensive
assessments of the effectiveness of the tax accounting and control procedures. After reviewing the
results of these assessments, management concluded that internal controls relating to accounting for
income taxes are designed and operating effectively to prevent a material error from occurring or to
assure that such an error would be detected and corrected in a timely manner.
There were no other changes in our internal controls over financial reporting that occurred during
the quarter ended September 25, 2009 that have materially affected, or are reasonably likely to
materially affect, these internal controls.
Management’s Report on Internal Control over Financial Reporting
Our management is responsible for establishing and maintaining adequate internal control over
financial reporting, as defined under Exchange Act Rules 13a-15(f) and 15d-15(f). Our 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 accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America. 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
Company’s assets, (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 the Company’s receipts and expenditures are being made only in accordance with
authorizations of the Company’s management and directors 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.
Management assessed the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting as of
September 25, 2009. In making this assessment, management used the criteria set forth by the
Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission (COSO) in Internal Control—
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