Southwest Airlines 2011 Annual Report Download - page 125

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Item 9. Changes in and Disagreements With Accountants on Accounting and Financial Disclosure
None.
Item 9A. Controls and Procedures
Evaluation of Disclosure Controls and Procedures. The Company maintains disclosure controls and
procedures (as defined in Rule 13a-15(e) of the Securities Exchange Act (the “Exchange Act”)) designed to
provide reasonable assurance that the information required to be disclosed by the Company in the reports that it
files or submits under the Exchange Act is recorded, processed, summarized, and reported within the time
periods specified in the SEC’s rules and forms. These include controls and procedures designed to ensure that
this information is accumulated and communicated to the Company’s management, including its Chief Executive
Officer and Chief Financial Officer, as appropriate to allow timely decisions regarding required disclosure.
Management, with the participation of the Company’s Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer,
evaluated the effectiveness of the Company’s disclosure controls and procedures as of December 31, 2011. Based
on this evaluation, the Company’s Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer have concluded that the
Company’s disclosure controls and procedures were effective as of December 31, 2011, at the reasonable
assurance level.
Management’s Annual Report on Internal Control over Financial Reporting. Management of the Company
is responsible for establishing and maintaining adequate internal control over financial reporting (as defined in
Rule 13a-15(f) of the Exchange Act). The Company’s internal control over financial reporting is a process, under
the supervision of the Company’s Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer, designed to provide
reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of financial reporting and the preparation of financial statements
for external purposes in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States.
Because of its inherent limitations, internal control over financial reporting may not prevent or detect
misstatements. Therefore, even those systems determined to be effective can provide only reasonable assurance
of achieving their control objectives.
Management, with the participation of the Company’s Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer,
evaluated the effectiveness of the Company’s internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2011.
In making this assessment, management used the criteria set forth by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations
of the Treadway Commission (COSO) in Internal Control — Integrated Framework. Based on this evaluation,
management, with the participation of the Company’s Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer,
concluded that, as of December 31, 2011, the Company’s internal control over financial reporting was effective.
Ernst & Young, LLP, the independent registered public accounting firm who audited the Company’s
Consolidated Financial Statements included in this Form 10-K, has issued a report on the Company’s internal
control over financial reporting, which is included herein.
Changes in Internal Control over Financial Reporting. Except as discussed below, there were no changes
in the Company’s internal control over financial reporting (as defined in Rule 13a-15(f) of the Exchange Act)
during the quarter ended December 31, 2011, that have materially affected, or are reasonably likely to materially
affect, the Company’s internal control over financial reporting. On May 2, 2011, the Company completed the
acquisition of AirTran. The Company is currently integrating policies, processes, People, technology, and
operations for the combined Company. Management will continue to evaluate the Company’s internal controls
over financial reporting as it continues its integration work.
Item 9B. Other Information
None.
119