Aarons 2006 Annual Report Download - page 43

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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,
2006, 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 management 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 manage-
ment’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 manage-
ment’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.
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 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 expendi-
tures 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 inade-
quate 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, 2006, 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, 2006, 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 2006, and the related consolidated statement of
earnings, shareholders equity, and cash flows for each of the
three years in the period ended December 31, 2006 of Aaron
Rents, Inc. and our report dated February 27, 2007 expressed an
unqualified opinion thereon.
Atlanta, Georgia
February 27, 2007
Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm