Community Health Systems 2015 Annual Report Download - page 181

Management’s Report on Internal Control over Financial Reporting
We are responsible for the preparation and integrity of the consolidated financial statements appearing in our
Annual Report on Form 10-K. The consolidated financial statements were prepared in conformity with
accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America and include amounts based on
management’s estimates and judgments. All other financial information in this report has been presented on a
basis consistent with the information included in the consolidated financial statements.
We are also responsible for establishing and maintaining adequate internal controls over financial reporting (as
defined in Rule 13a-15(f) under the Securities and Exchange Act of 1934, as amended). We maintain a system of
internal controls that is designed to provide reasonable assurance as to the fair and reliable preparation and
presentation of the consolidated financial statements, as well as to safeguard assets from unauthorized use or
disposition.
Our control environment is the foundation for our system of internal control over financial reporting and is
embodied in our Code of Conduct. It sets the tone of our organization and includes factors such as integrity and
ethical values. Our internal control over financial reporting is supported by formal policies and procedures which
are reviewed, modified and improved as changes occur in business conditions and operations.
The Audit and Compliance Committee of the Board of Directors, which is composed solely of outside
directors, meets periodically with members of management, the internal auditors and the independent registered
public accounting firm to review and discuss internal control over financial reporting and accounting and
financial reporting matters. The independent registered public accounting firm and internal auditors report to the
Audit and Compliance Committee and have full and free access to the Audit and Compliance Committee at any
time.
We conducted an evaluation of the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting based on the
framework in Internal Control - Integrated Framework (2013) issued by the Committee of Sponsoring
Organizations of the Treadway Commission. This evaluation included review of the documentation of controls,
evaluation of the design effectiveness of controls, testing of the operating effectiveness of controls and a
conclusion on this evaluation. We have concluded that our internal control over financial reporting was effective
as of December 31, 2015, based on these criteria.
Deloitte & Touche LLP, an independent registered public accounting firm, has issued an attestation report on
our internal control over financial reporting, which is included herein.
We do not expect that our disclosure controls and procedures or our internal controls will prevent all errors and
all fraud. A control system, no matter how well conceived and operated, can provide only reasonable, not
absolute, assurance that the objectives of the control system are met. Further, the design of a control system must
reflect the fact there are resource constraints and the benefits of controls must be considered relative to their
costs. Because of the inherent limitations in all control systems, no evaluation of controls can provide absolute
assurance that all control issues and instances of fraud, if any, within the Company have been detected.
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