Western Union 2007 Annual Report Download - page 47

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Reports of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm
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Report of Independent Registered
Public Accounting Firm
The Board of Directors and Stockholders
of The Western Union Company
We have audited The Western Union Company’s internal control
over fi nancial reporting as of December 31, 2007, based on
criteria established in Internal Control — Integrated Framework
issued by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the
Treadway Commission (the “COSO criteria”). The Western Union
Company’s management is responsible for maintaining effective
internal control over fi nancial reporting, and for its assessment
of the effectiveness of internal control over fi nancial reporting
included in the accompanying Management’s Report on Internal
Control Over Financial Reporting. Our responsibility is to express
an opinion on the Company’s internal control over fi nancial
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 fi nancial reporting was maintained in all
material respects. Our audit included obtaining an understanding
of internal control over fi nancial 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 fi nancial reporting is a
process designed to provide reasonable assurance regarding
the reliability of fi nancial reporting and the preparation of fi nancial
statements for external purposes in accordance with generally
accepted accounting principles. A company’s internal control
over fi nancial reporting includes those policies and procedures
that (1) pertain to the maintenance of records that, in reasonable
detail, accurately and fairly refl ect the transactions and disposi-
tions of the assets of the company; (2) 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 expen-
ditures 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
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.
In our opinion, The Western Union Company maintained, in
all material respects, effective internal control over fi nancial report-
ing as of December 31, 2007, 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 balance sheets of The Western Union Company
as of December 31, 2007 and 2006, and the related consolidated
statements of income, cash fl ows, and stockholders’ equity/
(defi ciency)/net investment in The Western Union Company for
each of the three years in the period ended December 31, 2007
of The Western Union Company and our report dated February
22, 2008 expressed an unqualifi ed opinion thereon.
Denver, Colorado
February 22, 2008