Quest Diagnostics 2015 Annual Report Download - page 76

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F- 1
Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm
To the Board of Directors and Stockholders
of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated
In our opinion, the consolidated financial statements listed in the index appearing under Item 15(a)(1) present fairly, in all
material respects, the financial position of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated and its subsidiaries at December 31, 2015 and 2014,
and the results of their operations and their cash flows for each of the three years in the period ended December 31, 2015 in
conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America. In addition, in our opinion, the
financial statement schedule listed in the index appearing under Item 15(a)(2) presents fairly, in all material respects, the
information set forth therein when read in conjunction with the related consolidated financial statements. Also in our opinion,
the Company maintained, in all material respects, effective internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2015,
based on criteria established in Internal Control - Integrated Framework (2013) issued by the Committee of Sponsoring
Organizations of the Treadway Commission (COSO). The Company's management is responsible for these financial statements
and the financial statement schedule, 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 Report of Management on Internal
Control over Financial Reporting. Our responsibility is to express opinions on these financial statements, on the financial
statement schedule, 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 8 to the consolidated financial statements, the Company changed the manner in which it classifies
deferred taxes in 2015 due to the adoption of Accounting Standards Update 2015-17, Balance Sheet Classification of Deferred
Taxes.
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.
/s/ PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP
Florham Park, New Jersey
February 26, 2016
QUEST DIAGNOSTICS 2015 ANNUAL REPORT ON FORM 10-K