EXHIBIT 31.2
I,
Joseph Saporito, certify that:
- 1.
- I
have reviewed this annual report on Form 10-K of Carriage Services Inc.;
- 2.
- Based
on my knowledge, this annual report does not contain any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact necessary to make the statements made, in light of
the circumstances under which such statements were made, not misleading with respect to the period covered by this annual report;
- 3.
- Based
on my knowledge, the financial statements, and other financial information included in this annual report, fairly present in all material respects the financial condition,
results of operations and cash flows of the registrant as of, and for, the periods presented in this annual report;
- 4.
- The
registrant's other certifying officer and I are responsible for establishing and maintaining disclosure controls and procedures (as defined in Exchange Act
Rules 13a-15(e) and 15d-15(e)) for the registrant and we have:
- a.
- designed
such disclosure controls and procedures, or caused such controls and procedures to be designed under our supervision, to ensure that material information relating to the
registrant, including its consolidated subsidiaries, is made known to us by others within those entities, particularly during the period in which this annual report is prepared;
- b.
- evaluated
the effectiveness of the registrant's disclosure controls and procedures and presented in this report our conclusions about the effectiveness of the disclosure controls and
procedures, as of the end of the period covered by this report based on such evaluation; and
- c.
- disclosed
in this report any change in the registrant's internal control over financial reporting that occurred during the registrant's most recent fiscal quarter (the registrant's
fourth fiscal quarter in the case of an annual report) that has materially affected, or is reasonably likely to materially affect, the registrant's internal control over financial reporting; and
- 5.
- The
registrant's other certifying officer and I have disclosed, based on our most recent evaluation of internal control over financial reporting, to the registrant's auditors and the
audit committee of registrant's board of directors (or persons performing the equivalent functions):
- a.
- all
significant deficiencies and material weaknesses in the design or operation of internal control over financial reporting which are reasonably likely to adversely affect the
registrant's ability to record, process, summarize and report financial information; and
- b.
- any
fraud, whether or not material, that involves management or other employees who have a significant role in the registrant's internal controls over financial reporting.
Dated: March 26, 2004 |
/s/ JOSEPH SAPORITO
Joseph Saporito
Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer |