Starwood 2011 Annual Report Download - page 119

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Management’s Report on Internal Control over Financial Reporting
Management of Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. and its subsidiaries (“Company”) is
responsible for establishing and maintaining adequate internal control over financial reporting, as such term is
defined in Exchange Act Rule 13a-15(f) or 15(d)-15(f). Those rules define internal control over financial
reporting as 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 (“GAAP”) and includes those policies and procedures that:
• Pertain to the maintenance of records that in reasonable detail accurately and fairly reflect 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
financial 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 effect on the financial statements.
Because of its inherent limitations, internal control over financial reporting may not prevent or detect
misstatements. 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 policies or
procedures may deteriorate.
Our management assessed the effectiveness of the Company’s internal controls over financial reporting as
of December 31, 2011. 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 assessment and those criteria, management believes that, as of December 31,
2011, the Company’s internal control over financial reporting is effective.
Management has engaged Ernst & Young LLP, the independent registered public accounting firm that
audited the financial statements included in this Annual Report on Form 10-K, to attest to the Company’s internal
control over financial reporting. The report is included herein.
F-2