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The Stockholders and Board of Directors
of First Data Corporation
We have audited the accompanying consolidated balance sheets of First Data Corporation as of December 31, 1996 and 1995, and the related consolidated statements of operations, stockholders' equity, and cash flows for each of the three years in the period ended December 31, 1996. 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 did not audit the 1994 financial statements of First Financial Management Corporation, a company merged with and into the Company in a business combination accounted for as a pooling of interests, as described in Note 2 to the consolidated financial statements, which First Financial Management Corporation financial statements reflect total revenues constituting 44% of consolidated 1994 revenues. Those statements were audited by other auditors whose report has been furnished to us, and our opinion, insofar as it relates to the 1994 amounts included for First Financial Management Corporation, is based solely upon the report of the other auditors.
We conducted our audits in accordance with generally accepted auditing standards. 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 and the report of other auditors provide a reasonable basis for our opinion.
In our opinion, based on our audits and the report of other auditors, the consolidated financial statements referred to above present fairly, in all material respects, the consolidated financial position of First Data Corporation at December 31, 1996 and 1995, and the consolidated results of its operations and its cash flows for each of the three years in the period ended December 31, 1996, in conformity with generally accepted accounting principles.
New York, New York
February 5, 1997
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