Starwood 2005 Annual Report Download - page 45

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evaluation, the Chief Executive OÇcer and Chief Financial OÇcer concluded that the Company's disclosure
controls and procedures are eÅective in alerting them in a timely manner to material information required to
be included in the Company's SEC reports.
Management's Report on Internal Control over Financial Reporting
Management of Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc. and its subsidiaries and Starwood Hotels &
Resorts and its subsidiaries is responsible for establishing and maintaining adequate internal control over
Ñnancial reporting, as such term is deÑned in Exchange Act Rule 13a-15(f) or 15(d)-15(f). Those rules
deÑne internal control over Ñnancial reporting as a process designed to provide reasonable assurance regarding
the reliability of Ñnancial reporting and the preparation of Ñnancial statements for external purposes in
accordance with generally accepted accounting principles (""GAAP'') and includes those policies and
procedures that:
¬Pertain to the maintenance of records that in reasonable detail accurately and fairly reÖect the
transactions and dispositions of the assets of the Company;
¬Provide reasonable assurance that the transactions are recorded as necessary to permit the preparation
of Ñnancial statements in accordance with GAAP, and the receipts and expenditures of the Company
are being made only in accordance with authorizations of management and directors of the
Company; and
¬Provide reasonable assurance regarding prevention or timely detection of unauthorized acquisition, use
or disposition of the Company's assets that could have a material eÅect on the Ñnancial statements.
Because of its inherent limitations, internal control over Ñnancial reporting may not prevent or detect
misstatements. Projections of any evaluation of eÅectiveness 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
policies or procedures may deteriorate.
The Company's management assessed the eÅectiveness of the Company's internal controls over Ñnancial
reporting as of December 31, 2005. In making this assessment, the Company's management used the criteria
established in Internal Control-Integrated Framework issued by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations
of the Treadway Commission (COSO). Based on our assessment and those criteria, management believes
that, as of December 31, 2005, the Company's internal control over Ñnancial reporting is eÅective.
Management has engaged Ernst & Young LLP, the independent registered public accounting Ñrm that
audited the Ñnancial statements included in this Joint Annual Report on Form 10-K, to attest to and report on
management's evaluation of the Company's internal control over Ñnancial reporting. Its report is included
herein.
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