The Following Is the 2006 Report of Independent Accountants for Delta

question 41

Essay

The following is the 2006 report of independent accountants for Delta Airlines:
"We have audited the accompanying consolidated balance sheets of Delta Air Lines, Inc. (the Company) as of December 31, 2006, and the related consolidated statements of operations, cash flows and shareowners' deficit, and cash flows for the year then ended. These financial statements are the responsibility of the Company's management. Our responsibility is to express an opinion on these financial statements 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 audit to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements are free of material misstatement. An audit includes examining, on a test basis, evidence supporting the amounts and disclosures in the financial statements. An audit also includes assessing the accounting principles used and significant estimates made by management, as well as evaluating the overall financial statement presentation. We believe that our audits provide a reasonable basis for our opinion.
In our opinion, the financial statements referred to above present fairly, in all material respects, the consolidated financial position of Delta Air Lines, Inc. at December 31, 2006, and the consolidated results of its operations and its cash flows for the year then ended, in conformity with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles.
The accompanying consolidated financial statements have been prepared assuming that the Delta Air Lines, Inc. will continue as a going concern. As discussed in Note 1 to the consolidated financial statements, the Company filed a voluntary petition for reorganization under Chapter 11 of the United States Bankruptcy Code on September 14, 2005 which raises substantial doubt about the Company's ability to continue as a going concern. Management's plans concerning these matters are also described in Note 1. The consolidated financial statements do not include any adjustments to reflect the possible future effects on the recoverability and classification of assets or the amounts and classifications of liabilities that may result from the outcome of this uncertainty.
As discussed in Note 2 to the consolidated financial statements, in 2006 the Company changed its method of accounting for postretirement benefit plans and share-based compensation.
We have also audited, in accordance with the standards of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States), the effectiveness of the Company's internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2006, based on the criteria established in Internal Control - Integrated Framework issued by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission and our report dated March 1, 2007 expressed an unqualified opinion thereon.

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