During the audit of Crowne Plaza's consolidated financial statements, is an opinion expressed on the effectiveness of the Company's internal control?

According to Crowne Plaza's 2025 Franchise Disclosure Document, the independent auditors do not express an opinion on the effectiveness of the company's internal control. While the auditors obtain an understanding of internal control relevant to the audit to design appropriate procedures, the audit's purpose is not to provide assurance on the internal control's effectiveness.

This means that the audit focuses on whether the financial statements are fairly presented and free from material misstatement. The auditors' procedures include examining evidence related to the amounts and disclosures in the financial statements, but these procedures are not designed to specifically test the effectiveness of Crowne Plaza's internal controls.

For a prospective franchisee, this implies that the audit provides assurance on the accuracy of the financial statements but does not guarantee that Crowne Plaza's internal controls are effective. Understanding the strength of a company's internal controls would require separate due diligence, as the audit report does not cover this aspect.