based on the assessed risk. Our audits also included performing such other procedures as we considered necessary in the circumstances. We believe that our audits provide a reasonable basis for our opinions. A company’s internal control over financial reporting is a process designed to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of financial reporting and the preparation of financial statements for external purposes in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles. A company’s internal control over financial reporting includes those policies and procedures that (i) pertain to the maintenance of records that, in reasonable detail, accurately and fairly reflect the transactions and dispositions of the assets of the company; (ii) provide reasonable assurance that transactions are recorded as necessary to permit preparation of financial statements in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles, and that receipts and expenditures of the company are being made only in accordance with authorizations of management and directors of the company; and (iii) provide reasonable assurance regarding prevention or timely detection of unauthorized acquisition, use, or disposition of the company’s assets that could have a material effect on the financial statements. Because of its inherent limitations, internal control over financial reporting may not prevent or detect misstatements. Also, projections of any evaluation of effectiveness to future periods are subject to the risk that controls may become inadequate because of changes in conditions, or that the degree of compliance with the policies or procedures may deteriorate. The critical audit matters communicated below are matters arising from the current period audit of the consolidated financial statements that were communicated or required to be communicated to the audit committee and that (i) relate to accounts or disclosures that are material to the consolidated financial statements and (ii) involved our especially challenging, subjective, or complex judgments. The communication of critical audit matters does not alter in any way our opinion on the consolidated financial statements, taken as a whole, and we are not, by communicating the critical audit matters below, providing separate opinions on the critical audit matters or on the accounts or disclosures to which they relate. As described in Notes 1 and 5 to the consolidated financial statements, the Company’s consolidated goodwill balance was $1,193.0 million as of December 31, 2019. The Company conducts an impairment test as of December 31 each year or whenever events or circumstances indicate goodwill may be impaired. An impairment loss for goodwill is recognized if the implied fair value of goodwill is less than the carrying value. Fair value is estimated using a discounted cash flow analysis, which requires management to make various judgmental assumptions about future sales, operating margins, growth rates and discount rates. The principal considerations for our determination that performing procedures relating to the goodwill impairment test is a critical audit matter are there was significant judgment by management when determining the fair value of the reporting units using a discounted cash flow analysis. This in turn led to a high degree of auditor judgment, subjectivity and effort in performing procedures and in evaluating management’s discounted cash flow analysis, including significant assumptions about future sales, operating margins, growth rates and discount rates. In addition, the audit effort included the involvement of professionals with specialized skill and knowledge to assist in performing these procedures and evaluating audit evidence obtained. Addressing the matter involved performing procedures and evaluating audit evidence in connection with forming our overall opinion on the consolidated financial statements. These procedures included testing the effectiveness of controls relating to management’s goodwill impairment test, including controls over the determination of the fair value of the Company’s reporting units. These procedures also included, among others, (i) testing management’s process for developing the fair value estimate, (ii) evaluating the appropriateness of the discounted cash flow analysis, (iii) testing the completeness, accuracy and relevance of underlying data used in the analysis, and (iv) evaluating the significant assumptions used in the discounted cash flow analysis by management in developing the fair value estimate, including future sales, operating margins, growth rates and discount rates. Evaluating management’s assumptions related to future sales, operating margins and growth rates involved evaluating whether the assumptions used by management were reasonable considering current and past performance of the reporting units and whether these assumptions were consistent with evidence obtained in other areas of the audit. Professionals with specialized skill and knowledge were used to assist in evaluating the reasonableness of the discount rates. 50 Goodwill Impairment Test Critical Audit Matters Definition and Limitations of Internal Control over Financial Reporting