Entergy 2008 Annual Report Download - page 57

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ENTERGY CORPORATION AND SUBSIDIARIES 2008
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To the Board of Directors and Shareholders
Entergy Corporation and Subsidiaries:
We have audited the internal control over financial reporting
of Entergy Corporation and Subsidiaries (the “Corporation”) 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 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, included
in the accompanying Internal Control over Financial Reporting.
Our responsibility is to express an opinion on 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, 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 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
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 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 the inherent limitations of internal control
over financial 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 internal 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, the Corporation maintained, in all material
respects, effective internal control over financial reporting as of
December 31, 2008, 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, 2008 of the Corporation and our report dated
February 27, 2009 expressed an unqualified opinion on those
consolidated financial statements.
DELOITTE & TOUCHE LLP
New Orleans, Louisiana
February 27, 2009
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 Entergy’s 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
effective can provide only reasonable assurance with respect to financial statement preparation and presentation.
Entergy’s management assessed the effectiveness of Entergy’s internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2008.
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 each management’s assessment and the criteria set forth by COSO, Entergy’s management believes that Entergy maintained
effective internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2008.
Entergy’s registered public accounting firm has issued an attestation report on Entergy’s internal control over financial reporting.
Changes in Internal Control Over Financial Reporting
Under the supervision and with the participation of Entergy’s management, including its CEO and CFO, Entergy evaluated changes
in internal control over financial reporting that occurred during the quarter ended December 31, 2008 and found no change that has
materially affected, or is reasonably likely to materially affect, internal control over financial reporting.
Report of Independent Registered
Public Accounting Firm