AT&T Wireless 2013 Annual Report Download - page 76

74 | AT&T Inc.
Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm on Internal Control over Financial Reporting
The Board of Directors and Stockholders of AT&T Inc.
We have audited AT&T Inc.’s (the Company) internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2013, based on
criteria established in Internal Control—Integrated Framework (1992 framework) issued by the Committee of Sponsoring
Organizations of the Treadway Commission (the COSO criteria). The Company’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 Report of Management. 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, the Company maintained, in all material respects, effective internal control over financial reporting
as of December 31, 2013, 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 the Company as of December 31, 2013 and 2012, and the related consolidated
statements of income and comprehensive income, changes in stockholders’ equity, and cash flows for each of the
three years in the period ended December 31, 2013 and our report dated February 21, 2014 expressed an unqualified
opinion thereon.
Dallas, Texas
February 21, 2014