Freddie Mac 2015 Annual Report Download - page 335

Controls and Procedures
Freddie Mac 2015 Form 10-K 333
Mitigating Actions Related to the Material
Weakness in Internal Control Over Financial
Reporting
As described above under "Management's Report on Internal Control Over Financial Reporting,” we have
one material weakness in internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2015 that we have
not remediated.
Given the structural nature of this material weakness, we believe it is likely that we will not remediate it
while we are under conservatorship. However, both we and FHFA have continued to engage in activities
and employ procedures and practices intended to permit accumulation and communication to
management of information needed to meet our disclosure obligations under the federal securities laws.
These include the following:
• FHFA has established the Division of Conservatorship, which is intended to facilitate operation of the
company with the oversight of the Conservator.
• We provide drafts of our SEC filings to FHFA personnel for their review and comment prior to filing.
We also provide drafts of external press releases, statements and speeches to FHFA personnel for
their review and comment prior to release.
• FHFA personnel, including senior officials, review our SEC filings prior to filing, including this
Form 10-K, and engage in discussions with us regarding issues associated with the information
contained in those filings. Prior to filing this Form 10-K, FHFA provided us with a written
acknowledgment that it had reviewed the Form 10-K, was not aware of any material misstatements or
omissions in the Form 10-K, and had no objection to our filing the Form 10-K.
• The Director of FHFA is in frequent communication with our Chief Executive Officer, typically meeting
(in person or by phone) on at least a bi-weekly basis.
• FHFA representatives attend meetings frequently with various groups within the company to enhance
the flow of information and to provide oversight on a variety of matters, including accounting, credit
and capital markets management, external communications, and legal matters.
• Senior officials within FHFA’s accounting group meet frequently with our senior financial executives
regarding our accounting policies, practices, and procedures.
In view of our mitigating actions related to this material weakness, we believe that our consolidated
financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2015 have been prepared in conformity with GAAP.