Our Responsibilities and Limitations
The objective of a financial statement audit is the expression of an opinion on the financial statements. We will be responsible for perform- ing the audit in accordance with the standards established by the PCAOB. Those standards require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements are free of material misstatement, whether caused by error or fraud. The audit will include 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 presenta- tion. We will consider the Company’s internal control over financial reporting in determining the nature, timing, and extent of auditing procedures necessary for expressing our opinion on the financial statements.
The objective of an audit of internal control over financial reporting is the expression of an opinion on the effectiveness of the Com- pany’s internal control over financial reporting. We will be responsible for performing the audit in accordance with the standards estab- lished by the PCAOB. 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. The audit will include 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 over financial reporting based on the assessed risk, and performing such other procedures as we consider necessary in the circumstances.
Under the standards established by the PCAOB, the existence of one or more material weaknesses will require us to issue an adverse opinion regarding the effectiveness of the Company’s internal control over financial reporting.
All significant deficiencies and material weaknesses relating to internal control over financial reporting identified while performing our work will be communicated in writing to management and the audit committee. All deficiencies in internal control over financial reporting (i.e., those deficiencies in internal control over financial reporting that are of a lesser magnitude than significant deficiencies) identified while performing our work will be communicated in writing to management of the Company, and the Audit Committee will be informed when such a communication has been made. We will communicate in writing to the Board of Directors of the Company if we conclude that the oversight of the Company’s external financial reporting and internal control over financial reporting by the Company’s audit committee is ineffective.
Because of its inherent limitations, internal control over financial reporting may not prevent or detect misstatements. Also, projec- tions of any evaluation of effectiveness of internal control over financial reporting from December 31, 2015, the date of our audit of the
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