Sara Lee 2008 Annual Report Download - page 78

Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm
To the Board of Directors and
Stockholders of Sara Lee Corporation
In our opinion, the accompanying consolidated balance sheets and
the related consolidated statements of income, common stockholders’
equity and cash flows present fairly, in all material respects, the
financial position of Sara Lee Corporation and its subsidiaries at
June 28, 2008 and June 30, 2007, and the results of their opera-
tions and their cash flows for each of the three years in the period
ended June 28, 2008 in conformity with accounting principles gen-
erally 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 June 28, 2008, based on crite-
ria 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 effec-
tiveness 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 con-
ducted 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 changed the manner in which it accounts for defined
benefit pension and other postretirement plans in fiscal 2007.
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 state-
ments 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.
PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP
Chicago, Illinois
August 25, 2008
76 Sara Lee Corporation and Subsidiaries