Equifax 2013 Annual Report Download - page 17

29 EQUIFAX 2013 ANNUAL REPORT
Management of Equifax is responsible for establishing and maintain-
ing adequate internal control over financial reporting as defined in
Rule 13a-15(f) under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Equifax’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 U.S. generally accepted accounting
principles. Internal control over financial reporting includes those writ-
ten policies and procedures that:
• Pertain to the maintenance of records that, in reasonable detail,
accurately and fairly reflect the transactions and dispositions of the
assets of Equifax;
• Provide reasonable assurance that transactions are recorded as
necessary to permit preparation of financial statements in
accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles;
• Provide reasonable assurance that receipts and expenditures of
Equifax are being made only in accordance with authorization of
management and the Board of Directors of Equifax; and
• Provide reasonable assurance regarding prevention or timely
detection of unauthorized acquisition, use or disposition of assets
that could have a material effect on the consolidated financial
statements.
Internal control over financial reporting includes the controls
themselves, monitoring and internal auditing practices, and actions
taken to correct deficiencies as identified.
Because of its inherent limitations, internal control over financial
reporting may not prevent or detect all misstatements. Also, projec-
tions 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.
Management assessed the effectiveness of Equifax’s internal control
over financial reporting as of December 31, 2013. Management
based this assessment on criteria for effective internal control over
financial reporting described in ‘‘Internal Control — Integrated
Framework’’ issued by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations
of the Treadway Commission (‘‘1992 Framework’’). Management’s
assessment included an evaluation of the design of Equifax’s internal
control over financial reporting and testing of the operational effective-
ness of its internal control over financial reporting. Management
reviewed the results of its assessment with the Audit Committee of its
Board of Directors. During 2013, the Company acquired three busi-
nesses. Refer to Note 4 of Notes to Consolidated Financial
Statements for additional information regarding the acquisitions.
Management has excluded these businesses from its assessment of
and conclusion on the effectiveness of the Company’s internal
controls over financial reporting as of December 31, 2013. The
acquisitions were not material to the 2013 consolidated financial
statements.
Based on this assessment, management determined that, as of
December 31, 2013, Equifax maintained effective internal control over
financial reporting. Ernst & Young LLP, the Company’s independent
registered public accounting firm, has issued an audit report on the
Company’s internal control over financial reporting as of
December 31, 2013.
MANAGEMENT’S REPORT ON INTERNAL CONTROL OVER FINANCIAL REPORTING
30 EQUIFAX 2013 ANNUAL REPORT
The Board of Directors and Shareholders of Equifax Inc.:
We have audited Equifax Inc.’s (‘‘Equifax’’ or ‘‘the Company’’)
internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2013,
based on criteria established in Internal Control — Integrated
Framework issued by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of
the Treadway Commission (‘‘1992 framework’’) (the COSO criteria).
Equifax’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 Management’s Report on Internal Control Over
Financial Reporting. Our responsibility is to express an opinion on 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, 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 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 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 inadequate because of changes in
conditions, or that the degree of compliance with the policies or
procedures may deteriorate.
As indicated in the accompanying Management’s Report on Internal
Control Over Financial Reporting, management’s assessment of and
conclusion on the effectiveness of internal control over financial
reporting did not include the internal controls of three businesses
acquired during 2013 which are included in the 2013 consolidated
financial statements of Equifax Inc. and were not material to the 2013
consolidated financial statements. Our audit of internal control over
financial reporting of Equifax Inc. also did not include an evaluation of
the internal control over financial reporting of the three acquired
businesses.
In our opinion, Equifax Inc. maintained, in all material respects, effec-
tive internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2013,
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, 2013 and 2012,
and the related consolidated statements of income, comprehensive
income, cash flows, and shareholders’ equity and other
comprehensive income for each of the three years in the period
ended December 31, 2013, of Equifax Inc. and our report dated
February 27, 2014 expressed an unqualified opinion thereon.
Atlanta, Georgia
February 27, 2014
REPORT OF INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM
ON INTERNAL CONTROL OVER FINANCIAL REPORTING