Airtran 2004 Annual Report Download - page 39

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2004 Annual Report
THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS AND STOCKHOLDERS OF AIRTRAN HOLDINGS, INC.
We have audited management’s assessment, included in the accompanying Management’s Report on Internal Control over Financial Reporting, that
AirTran Holdings, Inc. maintained effective internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2004, based on criteria established in Internal
Control—Integrated Framework issued by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission (the COSO criteria). AirTran
Holdings, 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. Our responsibility is to express an opinion on management’s assessment and an opinion on
the effectiveness of 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, evaluating
management’s assessment, testing and evaluating the design and operating effectiveness of internal control, 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, management’s assessment that AirTran Holdings, Inc. maintained effective internal control over financial reporting as of December
31, 2004, is fairly stated, in all material respects, based on the COSO criteria. Also, in our opinion, AirTran Holdings, Inc. maintained, in all material
respects, effective internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2004, 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 AirTran Holdings, Inc. as of December 31, 2004 and 2003, and the related consolidated statements of income, stockholders’ equity, and
cash flows for each of the three years in the period ended December 31, 2004 of AirTran Holdings, Inc. and our report dated March 11, 2005 expressed
an unqualified opinion thereon.
Atlanta, Georgia,
March 11, 2005
Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm