Visa 2008 Annual Report Download - page 98

Table of Contents
Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm
[KPMG LLP letterhead]
The Board of Directors and Stockholders
Visa Inc. and subsidiaries:
We have audited the accompanying consolidated balance sheet of Visa Inc. and subsidiaries as of September 30, 2008, and the related consolidated
statements of operations, changes in stockholders' equity, comprehensive income, and cash flows for the year ended September 30, 2008, and the consolidated
balance sheet of Visa U.S.A. Inc. and subsidiaries (Visa U.S.A) as of September 30, 2007, and the related consolidated statements of operations, changes in
stockholders' equity, comprehensive income, and cash flows for each of the years in the two-year period ended September 30, 2007. We also have audited
Visa Inc.'s internal control over financial reporting as of September 30, 2008, based on criteria established in Internal Control – Integrated Framework issued
by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission (COSO). Visa Inc.'s management is responsible for these consolidated financial
statements, 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
these consolidated financial statements and an opinion on the Company's internal control over financial reporting based on our audits.
We conducted our audits in accordance with the standards of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States). Those standards require
that we plan and perform the audits to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements are free of material misstatement and whether
effective internal control over financial reporting was maintained in all material respects. Our audits of the consolidated financial statements included
examining, on a test basis, evidence supporting the amounts and disclosures in the financial statements, assessing the accounting principles used and
significant estimates made by management, and evaluating the overall financial statement presentation. Our audit of internal control over financial reporting
included obtaining an understanding of internal control over financial reporting, assessing the risk that a material weakness exists, and testing and evaluating
the design and operating effectiveness of internal control based on the assessed risk. Our audits also included performing such other procedures as we
considered necessary in the circumstances. We believe that our audits provide a reasonable basis for our opinions.
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 of changes in conditions, or that the degree of compliance with
the policies or procedures may deteriorate.
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