Equifax 2007 Annual Report Download - page 52

50 EQUIFAX | 2007 ANNUAL REPORT
50 EQUIFAX | 2007 ANNUAL REPORT
REPORT OF INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM
ON INTERNAL CONTROL OVER FINANCIAL REPORTING
The Board of Directors and Shareholders of Equifax Inc.:
We have audited Equifax Inc.’s internal control over fi nancial
reporting as of December 31, 2007, based on criteria established in
Internal Control – Integrated Framework issued by the Committee
of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission (the
COSO criteria). Equifax Inc.’s management is responsible for
maintaining effective internal control over fi nancial reporting,
and for its assessment of the effectiveness of internal control over
fi nancial reporting included in the accompanying Management’s
Report on Internal Control over Financial Reporting. Our
responsibility is to express an opinion on the Company’s internal
control over fi nancial 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 fi nancial reporting was maintained in all material
respects. Our audit included obtaining an understanding of
internal control over fi nancial 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 fi nancial reporting is a
process designed to provide reasonable assurance regarding the
reliability of fi nancial reporting and the preparation of fi nancial
statements for external purposes in accordance with generally
accepted accounting principles. A company’s internal control
over fi nancial reporting includes those policies and procedures
that (1) pertain to the maintenance of records that, in reasonable
detail, accurately and fairly refl ect the transactions and dispositions
of the assets of the company; (2) provide reasonable assurance
that transactions are recorded as necessary to permit preparation
of fi nancial 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 fi nancial statements.
Because of its inherent limitations, internal control over
fi nancial 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, Equifax Inc. maintained, in all material
respects, effective internal control over fi nancial reporting as
of December 31, 2007, 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 as of December 31, 2007 and 2006,
and the related consolidated statements of income, shareholders’
equity and comprehensive income, and cash fl ows for each of the
three years in the period ended December 31, 2007 of Equifax Inc.
and subsidiaries and our report dated February 26, 2008 expressed
an unqualifi ed opinion thereon.
Atlanta, Georgia
February 26, 2008