Entergy 2005 Annual Report Download - page 59

To the Board of Directors and Shareholders of Entergy Corporation:
We have audited management’s assessment, included in the accom-
panying Controls and Procedures – Internal Control over Financial
Reporting, that Entergy Corporation and Subsidiaries (the
Corporation) 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
Corporation’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 management’s assessment
and an opinion on the effectiveness of the Corporation’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 opinions.
A company’s internal control over financial reporting is a process
designed by, or under the supervision of, the company’s principal
executive and principal financial officers, or persons performing
similar functions, and effected by the company’s board of directors,
management, and other personnel to provide reasonable assurance
regarding the reliability of financial reporting and the preparation of
financial statements for external purposes in accordance with gener-
ally 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 trans-
actions are recorded as necessary to permit preparation of financial
statements in accordance with generally accepted accounting princi-
ples, 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 reasonable assurance
regarding prevention or timely detection of unauthorized acquisi-
tion, use, or disposition of the company’s assets that could have a
material effect on the financial statements.
Because of the inherent limitations of internal control over finan-
cial reporting, including the possibility of collusion or improper
management override of controls, material misstatements due to
error or fraud may not be prevented or detected on a timely basis.
Also, projections of any evaluation of the effectiveness of the inter-
nal control over financial reporting to future periods are subject to
the risk that the 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 the Corporation
maintained effective internal control over financial reporting as of
December 31, 2005, is fairly stated, in all material respects, based on
the criteria established in Internal Control – Integrated Framework
issued by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the
Treadway Commission. Also in our opinion, the Corporation main-
tained, in all material respects, effective internal control over financial
reporting as of December 31, 2005, based on the criteria established
in Internal Control – Integrated Framework issued by the
Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission.
We have also audited, in accordance with the standards of the
Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States),
the consolidated financial statements as of and for the year
ended December 31, 2005 of the Corporation and our report
dated March 9, 2006 expressed an unqualified opinion on those
financial statements.
DELOITTE & TOUCHE LLP
New Orleans, Louisiana
March 9, 2006
INTERNAL CONTROL OVER FINANCIAL REPORTING
The management of Entergy Corporation is responsible for establishing and maintaining adequate internal control over financial reporting
for Entergy. Entergy’s internal control system is designed to provide reasonable assurance regarding the preparation and fair presentation of
its financial statements presented in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles.
All internal control systems, no matter how well designed, have inherent limitations. Therefore, even those systems determined to be effec-
tive can provide only reasonable assurance with respect to financial statement preparation and presentation.
Entergy management assessed the effectiveness of its internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2005. In making this
assessment, management used the criteria set forth by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission (COSO)
in Internal Control – Integrated Framework.
Based on management’s assessment and the criteria set forth by COSO, management believes that Entergy maintained effective internal
control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2005.
Entergy’s registered public accounting firm has issued an attestation report on management’s assessment of its internal control over
financial reporting.
ENTERGY CORPORATION AND SUBSIDIARIES 2005
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REPORT OF INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM