Western Union 2008 Annual Report Download - page 45

4343
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 financial reporting as of December 31, 2008,
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
financial reporting, and for its assessment of the effective-
ness of internal control over financial 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 financial reporting based on our audit.
We conducted our audit in accordance with the stan-
dards 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 report-
ing 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 prin-
ciples. A company’s internal control over financial report-
ing includes those policies and procedures that (1) pertain
to the maintenance of records that, in reasonable detail,
accurately and fairly reflect 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 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 reason-
able 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 misstate-
ments. 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 proce-
dures may deteriorate.
In our opinion, The Western Union Company main-
tained, in all material respects, effective internal control
over financial reporting as of December 31, 2008, 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, 2008 and 2007, and
the related consolidated statements of income, cash flows,
and stockholders’ (deficiency)/equity/net investment in
The Western Union Company for each of the three years
in the period ended December 31, 2008 and our report
dated February 18, 2009 expressed an unqualified opinion
thereon.
Denver, Colorado
February 18, 2009