Western Union 2007 Annual Report Download - page 46

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WESTERN UNION 2007 Annual Report
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Management’s Report on the
Financial Statements
Our management is responsible for the preparation, integrity
and objectivity of the accompanying consolidated fi nancial
statements and the related fi nancial information. The fi nancial
statements have been prepared in conformity with accounting
principles generally accepted in the United States of America
and necessarily include certain amounts that are based on esti-
mates and informed judgments. Our management also prepared
the related fi nancial information included in this Annual Report
and is responsible for its accuracy and consistency with the
fi nancial statements.
The consolidated fi nancial statements have been audited by
Ernst & Young LLP, an independent registered public accounting
fi rm who conducted their audits in accordance with the standards
of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United
States) as of December 31, 2007 and 2006, and for each of the
three years in the period ended December 31, 2007. The inde-
pendent registered public accounting fi rm’s responsibility is to
express an opinion as to the fairness with which such fi nancial
statements present our fi nancial position, results of operations
and cash fl ows in accordance with accounting principles generally
accepted in the United States.
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Management’s Report on Internal Control
Over Financial Reporting
Our management is responsible for establishing and maintaining
adequate internal control over fi nancial reporting as defi ned in
Rule 13a-15(f) under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. West-
ern Union’s internal control over fi nancial reporting is designed
to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of
fi nancial reporting and the preparation of consolidated fi nancial
statements for external purposes in accordance with generally
accepted accounting principles. Western Union’s internal control
over fi nancial reporting includes those policies and procedures
that (i) pertain to the maintenance of records that, in reasonable
detail, accurately and fairly refl ect the transactions and dispositions
of our assets; (ii) provide reasonable assurance that transactions
are recorded as necessary to permit preparation of fi nancial
statements in accordance with generally accepted accounting
principles, and that receipts and expenditures are being made
only in accordance with authorizations of our management and
Board of Directors; and (iii) provide reasonable assurance regard-
ing prevention or timely detection of unauthorized acquisition,
use, or disposition of our assets that could have a material effect
on the consolidated fi nancial statements.
Because of its inherent limitations, internal control over fi nan-
cial 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 compli-
ance with the policies or procedures may deteriorate.
Management assessed the effectiveness of Western Union’s
internal control over fi nancial reporting as of December 31, 2007,
utilizing the criteria set forth by the Committee of Sponsoring
Organizations of the Treadway Commission (COSO) in Internal
Control-Integrated Framework. Based on this assessment and
those criteria, management determined that Western Union’s
internal control over financial reporting was effective as of
December 31, 2007. The effectiveness of Western Union’s internal
control over fi nancial reporting as of December 31, 2007 has
been audited by Ernst & Young LLP, Western Union’s independent
registered public accounting fi rm, as stated in their attestation
report included in this Annual Report.
Christina A. Gold
President and Chief Executive Offi cer
Scott T. Scheirman
Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Offi cer