Entergy 2011 Annual Report Download - page 57

Entergy Corporation and Subsidiaries 2011
To the Board of Directors and Shareholders of
Entergy Corporation and Subsidiaries
New Orleans, Louisiana
We have audited the internal control over financial reporting of Entergy
Corporation and Subsidiaries (the “Corporation”) as of December 31,
2011, 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,
2011, 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, 2011 of the Corporation and our report dated February
27, 2012 expressed an unqualified opinion on those consolidated
financial statements.
DELOITTE & TOUCHE LLP
New Orleans, Louisiana
February 27, 2012
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, 2011. 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, 2011.
Entergy’s registered public accounting firm has issued an attestation report on Entergy’s internal control over financial reporting.
Changes in Internal Controls Over Financial Reporting
Under the supervision and with the participation of management, including the Principal Executive Officer and Principal Financial Officer, Entergy
evaluated changes in internal control over financial reporting that occurred during the quarter ended December 31, 2011 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
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