Washington Post 2008 Annual Report Download - page 66

REPORT OF INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM
To the Board of Directors and
Shareholders of The Washington Post Company:
In our opinion, the consolidated financial statements referred to under Item 15 (1) on page 36 and listed in the index on page 38 present
fairly, in all material respects, the financial position of The Washington Post Company and its subsidiaries at December 28, 2008 and
December 30, 2007, and the results of their operations and their cash flows for each of the three years in the period ended December 28,
2008 in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America. In addition, in our opinion, the financial
statement schedule listed in the accompanying index presents fairly, in all material respects, the information set forth therein when read in
conjunction with the related consolidated financial statements. Also in our opinion, the Company maintained, in all material respects, effective
internal control over financial reporting as of December 28, 2008, based on criteria established in Internal Control — Integrated Framework
issued by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission (COSO). The Company’s management is responsible for
these financial statements and financial statement schedule, for maintaining effective internal control over financial reporting and for its
assessment of the effectiveness of internal control over financial reporting, included in Management’s Report on Internal Control Over Financial
Reporting appearing under Item 9A. Our responsibility is to express opinions on these financial statements, on the financial statement schedule,
and on the Company’s internal control over financial reporting based on our integrated 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 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.
As discussed in Notes J and K to the financial statements, The Washington Post Company changed the manner in which it accounts for share-
based compensation and the manner in which it accounts for defined benefit pensions and postretirement plans, respectively, both in fiscal
2006.
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 (i) pertain to the maintenance of
records that, in reasonable detail, accurately and fairly reflect the transactions and dispositions of the assets of the company; (ii) 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 (iii) 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.
PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP
McLean, Virginia
February 25, 2009
54 THE WASHINGTON POST COMPANY