United Airlines 2011 Annual Report Download - page 159

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To the Board of Directors and Stockholders of
United Continental Holdings, Inc.
Chicago, Illinois
We have audited United Continental Holdings, Inc.’s (the “Company”) internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2011, based on criteria
established in Internal Control-Integrated Framework issued by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission (the COSO criteria).
The Company’s management is responsible 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 Management Report on Internal Control Over Financial Reporting in Item 9A. Our
responsibility is to express an opinion on the company’s internal control over financial reporting based on our audit.
We conducted our audit in accordance with the standards of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States). Those standards require that
we plan and perform the audit to obtain reasonable assurance about whether effective internal control over financial reporting was maintained in all material
respects. Our audit included obtaining an understanding of internal control over financial reporting, assessing the risk that a material weakness exists, testing
and evaluating the design and operating effectiveness of internal control based on the assessed risk, and performing such other procedures as we considered
necessary in the circumstances. We believe that our audit provides a reasonable basis for our opinion.
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 (1) pertain to the maintenance of records that, in reasonable detail, accurately and fairly reflect
the transactions and dispositions of the assets of the company; (2) 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 (3) 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.
In our opinion, the Company maintained, in all material respects, effective internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2011, based on the
COSO criteria.
We also have audited, in accordance with the standards of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States), the consolidated financial
statements as of and for the year ended December 31, 2011 of the Company and our report dated February 22, 2012 expressed an unqualified opinion thereon.
/s/ Ernst & Young LLP
Chicago, Illinois
February 22, 2012
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