Famous Footwear 2012 Annual Report Download - page 45

2012 BROWN SHOE COMPANY, INC. FORM 10-K 43
Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm
The Board of Directors and Shareholders
Brown Shoe Company, Inc.
We have audited Brown Shoe Company, Inc.’s (the Company’s) internal control over financial reporting as of
February 2, 2013, based on criteria established in Internal Control – Integrated Framework issued by the Committee
of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission (the COSO criteria). The Company’s management
is responsible for maintaining eective internal control over financial reporting and for its assessment of the
eectiveness of internal control over financial reporting included in the accompanying Management’s Report on
Internal Control Over Financial Reporting. 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 eective 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 eectiveness 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 eect 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 eectiveness 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, Brown Shoe Company, Inc., maintained, in all material respects, eective internal control over
financial reporting as of February 2, 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 Brown Shoe Company, Inc. as of February 2, 2013 and
January 28, 2012, and the related consolidated statements of earnings, comprehensive income, cash flows and
shareholders’ equity for each of the three years in the period ended February 2, 2013, and our report dated
April 2, 2013, expressed an unqualified opinion thereon.
St. Louis, Missouri
April 2, 2013