Swinton & Associates Accounting Firm
6711 14th Street Washington, DC 20310
202-678-0076
November 27, 2011
Mr. John Jones:
President
LBJ Corporation
100 E Main Street
Alexandria, VA 22303
First and foremost, thank you for selecting Swinton & Associates Accounting Firm to evaluate LBJ’s Internal Control Systems. I realize that there are a plethora of accounting firms that you could have chosen therefore; I wanted to express my sincere gratitude for trusting our firm to assist you with your needs. With that said, I have carefully assessed the information you provided to my colleague at the initial meeting regarding LBJ’s posture for going public. I have outlined the key areas of concern and have broken the areas down into the following categories:
1. Internal Control Requirements - After numerous corporate scandals came to light in the early 2000s, Congress addressed this issue by passing the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 (SOX). Under SOX, all publicly traded U.S. corporations are required to maintain an adequate system of internal control. Corporate executives and boards of directors must ensure that these controls are reliable and effective. In addition, independent outside auditors must attest to the adequacy of the internal control system. Companies that fail to comply are subject to fines, and company officers can be imprisoned. SOX also created the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB), to establish auditing standards and regulate auditor activity. Internal control consists of all the related methods and measures adopted within an organization to safeguard its assets, enhance the reliability of its accounting records, increase efficiency of operations, and ensure compliance with laws and regulations. Internal control systems have five primary components which are:
• A controlled environment