Cisco 2009 Annual Report Download - page 8

Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm
To the Board of Directors and Shareholders of Cisco Systems, Inc.:
In our opinion, the accompanying consolidated balance sheets and the related consolidated statements of operations, of shareholders’
equity and of cash flows appearing on pages 39 to 42 present fairly, in all material respects, the financial position of Cisco Systems, Inc. and
its subsidiaries at July 25, 2009 and July 26, 2008, and the results of their operations and their cash flows for each of the three years in the
period ended July 25, 2009 in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America. Also in our
opinion, the Company maintained, in all material respects, effective internal control over financial reporting as of July 25, 2009, based on
criteria established in Internal Control—Integrated Framework issued by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway
Commission (COSO). The Company’s management is responsible for these financial statements, 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 on Internal Control over Financial Reporting. Our responsibility is to express opinions on these
financial statements and on the Company’s internal control over financial reporting based on our integrated audits. We conducted our
audits in accordance with the standards of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States). Those standards require that
we plan and perform the audits to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements are free of material misstatement
and whether effective internal control over financial reporting was maintained in all material respects. Our audits of the financial statements
included examining, on a test basis, evidence supporting the amounts and disclosures in the financial statements, assessing the
accounting principles used and significant estimates made by management, and evaluating the overall financial statement presentation.
Our audit of internal control over financial reporting included obtaining an understanding of internal control over financial reporting,
assessing the risk that a material weakness exists, and testing and evaluating the design and operating effectiveness of internal control
based on the assessed risk. Our audits also included performing such other procedures as we considered necessary in the circumstances.
We believe that our audits provide a reasonable basis for our opinions.
As discussed in Note 2 to the consolidated financial statements, the Company adopted new accounting rules for other-than-temporary
impairments of debt securities in 2009, and for uncertain tax positions in 2008.
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 (i) pertain to the maintenance
of records that, in reasonable detail, accurately and fairly reflect the transactions and dispositions of the assets of the company; (ii) 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 (iii) 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.
San Jose, California
September 10, 2009
6 Cisco Systems, Inc.