Cincinnati Bell 2001 Annual Report Download - page 39

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REPORT OF MANAGEMENT
The management of Broadwing Inc. is responsible for the informa-
tion and representations contained in this report. Management
believes that the financial statements have been prepared in accor-
dance with generally accepted accounting principles and that the
other information in this report is consistent with those statements.
In preparing the financial statements, management is required to
include amounts based on estimates and judgments that it believes
are reasonable under the circumstances.
In meeting its responsibility for the reliability of the financial
statements, management maintains a system of internal
accounting controls, which is continually reviewed and evalu-
ated. Our internal auditors monitor compliance with the system
of internal controls in connection with their program of internal
audits. However, there are inherent limitations that should be
recognized in considering the assurances provided by any sys-
tem of internal accounting controls. Management believes that
its system provides reasonable assurance that assets are safe-
guarded and that transactions are properly recorded and
executed in accordance with management’s authorization, that
the recorded accountability for assets is compared with the
existing assets at reasonable intervals, and that appropriate
action is taken with respect to any differences. Management
also seeks to assure the objectivity and integrity of its financial
data by the careful selection of its managers, by organization
arrangements that provide an appropriate division of responsi-
bility, and by communications programs aimed at assuring that
its policies, standards and managerial authorities are under-
stood throughout the organization.
The financial statements have been audited by
PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, independent accountants. Their
audit was conducted in accordance with auditing standards
generally accepted in the United States of America.
The Audit and Finance Committee of the Board of Directors,
which is composed of five directors who are not employees,
meets periodically with management, the internal auditors and
PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP to review their performance and
responsibilities and to discuss auditing, internal accounting con-
trols and financial reporting matters. Both the internal auditors
and the independent accountants periodically meet alone with
the Audit and Finance Committee and have access to the Audit
and Finance Committee at any time.
Richard G. Ellenberger
President, Chief Executive Officer and Chairman-Elect
Mary E. McCann
Senior Vice President, Corporate Finance
TO THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS AND THE
SHAREOW N E R S OF BROADW I NG INC.
In our opinion, the accompanying consolidated balance sheets
and the related consolidated statements of operations and com-
prehensive income (loss), of shareowners’ equity and of cash
flows present fairly, in all material respects, the financial position
of Broadwing Inc. (“the Company”) and its subsidiaries at
December 31, 2001 and 2000, and the results of their operations
and their cash flows for each of the three years in the period
ended December 31, 2001, in conformity with accounting princi-
ples generally accepted in the United States of America. These
financial statements are the responsibility of the Company’s man-
agement; our responsibility is to express an opinion on these
financial statements based on our audits. We conducted our
audits of these statements in accordance with auditing standards
generally accepted in the United States of America, which require
that we plan and perform the audit to obtain reasonable assur-
ance about whether the financial statements are free of material
misstatement. An audit includes examining, on a test basis, evi-
dence supporting the amounts and disclosures in the financial
statements, assessing the accounting principles used and signifi-
cant estimates made by management, and evaluating the overall
financial statement presentation. We believe that our audits pro-
vide a reasonable basis for our opinion.
As discussed in Note 1 to the consolidated financial state-
ments, the Company adopted SEC Staff Accounting Bulletin
No. 101 in 2000 and changed its method of accounting for cer-
tain revenue and related costs.
PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP
Cincinnati, Ohio
March 11, 2002
REPORT OF INDEPENDENT ACCOUNTANTS