A Dark Vector Cognition product

Item 9A. Controls and Procedures.

6K characters. Original on sec.gov · Markdown

Item 9A. Controls and Procedures.

| --- | --- |

Evaluation of Disclosure Controls and Procedures

We carried out an evaluation required by Rules 13a-15 and 15d-15 under the Exchange Act (the “Evaluation”), under the supervision and with the participation of our Chief Executive Officer (“CEO”) and Chief Financial Officer (“CFO”), of the effectiveness of our disclosure controls and procedures as defined in Rule 13a-15 and 15d-15 under the Exchange Act (“Disclosure Controls”) as of December 31, 2010. Based on the Evaluation, our CEO and CFO concluded that the design and operation of our Disclosure Controls were effective to ensure that information required to be disclosed by us in reports that we file or submit under the Exchange Act is (i) recorded, processed, summarized and reported within the time periods specified in SEC rules and forms and (ii) accumulated and communicated to our senior management, including our CEO and CFO, to allow timely decisions regarding required disclosure.

In conducting Brown & Brown’s evaluation of the effectiveness of its internal controls over financial reporting, Brown & Brown has excluded the following acquisitions completed by Brown & Brown during 2010: Medical Settlement Protocols; DiMartino Associates, Inc; Crowe Paradis Holding Company et.al.; Thomas R Jones, Inc. and Martin Benefits Consulting, LLC (collectively the “2010 Excluded Acquisitions”), which were acquired during 2010 and whose financial statements constitute 7.3 % and 5.5% of net and total assets, respectively, 2.0% of revenues, and 2.1% of net income of the consolidated financial statement amounts as of and for the year ended December 31, 2010. Refer to Note 2 to the Consolidated Financial Statements for further discussion of these acquisitions and their impact on Brown & Brown’s Consolidated Financial Statements.

Changes in Internal Controls

There has not been any change in our internal control over financial reporting identified in connection with the Evaluation that occurred during the quarter ended December 31, 2010 that has materially affected, or is reasonably likely to materially affect, those controls.

Inherent Limitations of Internal Control Over Financial Reporting

Our management, including our principal executive officer and principal financial officer, does not expect that our Disclosure Controls and internal controls will prevent all error and all fraud. A control system, no matter how well conceived and operated, can provide only reasonable, not absolute, assurance that the objectives of the control system are met. Further, the design of a control system must reflect the fact that there are resource constraints, and the benefits of controls must be considered relative to their costs. Because of the inherent limitations in all control systems, no evaluation of controls can provide absolute assurance that all control issues and instances of fraud, if any, within the company have been detected. These inherent limitations include the realities that judgments in decision-making can be faulty, and that breakdowns can occur because of simple error or mistake. Additionally, controls can be circumvented by the individual acts of some persons, by collusion of two or more people, or by management override of the control.

The design of any system of controls also is based in part upon certain assumptions about the likelihood of future events, and there can be no assurance that any design will succeed in achieving its stated goals under all potential future conditions; over time, a control may become inadequate because of changes in conditions, or the degree of compliance with the policies or procedures may deteriorate. Because of the inherent limitations in a cost-effective control system, misstatements due to error or fraud may occur and not be detected.

CEO and CFO Certifications

Exhibits 31.1 and 31.2 are the Certifications of the CEO and the CFO, respectively. The Certifications are required in accordance with Section 302 of Sarbanes-Oxley (the “Section 302 Certifications”). This Item 9A is the information concerning the Evaluation referred to in the Section 302 Certifications and this information should be read in conjunction with the Section 302 Certifications for a more complete understanding of the topics presented.

Management’s Report on Internal Control Over Financial Reporting

Our management is responsible for establishing and maintaining adequate internal control over financial reporting, as such term is defined in Exchange Act Rule 13a-15(f). Our internal control system was designed to provide reasonable assurance to our management and board of directors regarding the preparation and fair presentation of published financial statements. All internal control systems, no matter how well designed, have inherent limitations. Therefore, even those systems determined to be effective can provide only reasonable assurance with respect to financial statement preparation and presentation.

Table of Contents

Under the supervision and with the participation of our management, including our principal executive officer and principal financial officer, we conducted an evaluation of the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting based on the framework in Internal Control — Integrated Framework issued by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission. Based on our evaluation under the framework in Internal Control — Integrated Framework, our management concluded that our internal control over financial reporting was effective as of December 31, 2010. Management’s Report on Internal Control Over Financial Reporting and the Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm on internal control over financial reporting are set forth in Part II, Item 8 of this Annual Report on Form 10-K and are included herein by reference.

Previous: Item 9. Changes in and Disagreements with Accountants on Accounting and Financial Disclosure. · Next: Item 9B. Other Information.