Purpose: To help familiarize you with the financial reporting of a real company in order to further your understanding of the chapter material you are learning.
The annual report of Columbia Sportswear in Appendix A contains much more information than what is reported in the financial statements and related footnotes. In this case, you will explore other information presented in the annual report in order to determine the responsibilities of both management and the independent auditors for the annual report content. In addition, you will investigate the respective roles of both management and the auditors in the company’s internal control system.
Refer to the Columbia Sportswear Annual Report in Appendix A. You will need to find and then read the following reports:
■ Management’s Report on the Consolidated Financial Statements (Item 8)
■ Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm on Consolidated Financial Statements (Item 8)
■ Management’s Report on Internal Control Over Financial Reporting (Item 9A)
■ Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm on Internal Control over Financial Reporting (Item 9A)

Requirements
1. Who is responsible for the information in the annual report? Who is responsible for recommending the independent accountants to the Board of Directors?
2. Who were the independent auditors? Under what standards did they conduct their audit? What was their opinion of the audited financial statements?
3. Who is responsible for establishing and maintaining adequate internal control over financial reporting? Is the effectiveness of the internal controls ever reviewed? Do you think that internal control procedures are necessary? Why?
4. Do the auditors have any responsibility with respect to the internal controls? What was the auditor’s opinion regarding the management assessment of internal control effectiveness?