Aarons 2005 Annual Report Download - page 43

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Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm on
Internal Control Over Financial Reporting
The Board of Directors and Shareholders of Aaron Rents, Inc.
We have audited management’s assessment, included in the accompanying Management
Report on Internal Control Over Financial Reporting that Aaron Rents, Inc. maintained
effective internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2005, based on criteria
established in Internal Control — Integrated Framework issued by the Committee of Sponsoring
Organizations of the Treadway Commission (the COSO criteria). Aaron Rents, Inc.’s manage-
ment is responsible for maintaining effective internal control over financial reporting and for
its assessment of the effectiveness of internal control over financial reporting. Our responsibility
is to express an opinion on management’s assessment and an opinion on the effectiveness of 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, evaluating management’s assessment, testing and evaluating the
design and operating effectiveness of internal control, and performing such other procedures as
we considered necessary in the circumstances. We believe that our audit provides a reasonable
basis for our opinion.
Acompany’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 arebeing 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, management’s assessment that Aaron Rents, Inc. maintained effective internal
control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2005, is fairly stated, in all material respects,
based on the COSO criteria. Also, in our opinion, Aaron Rents, Inc. maintained, in all material
respects, effective internal control over financial reporting as December 31, 2005, 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 Aaron Rents, Inc. as of
December 31, 2005 and 2004, and the related consolidated statement of earnings, shareholders’
equity,and cash flows for each of the three years in the period ended December 31, 2005 of
Aaron Rents, Inc. and our report dated March 14, 2006 expressed an unqualified opinion thereon.
Atlanta, Georgia
March 14, 2006
Public Accounting Reports