3M 2005 Annual Report Download - page 61

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35
Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm
To the Stockholders and Board of Directors of 3M Company:
We have completed integrated audits of 3M Company’s 2005 and 2004 consolidated financial statements and of
its internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2005, and an audit of its 2003 consolidated financial
statements in accordance with the standards of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States).
Our opinions, based on our audits, are presented below.
Consolidated financial statements
In our opinion, the consolidated financial statements listed in the accompanying index present fairly, in all material
respects, the financial position of 3M Company and its subsidiaries at December 31, 2005 and 2004, and the
results of their operations and their cash flows for each of the three years in the period ended December 31, 2005
in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America. 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 conducted our audits of these statements in accordance with
the standards of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States). 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 of financial statements includes examining, on a test basis, evidence supporting
the amounts and disclosures in the financial statements, assessing the accounting principles used and significant
estimates made by management, and evaluating the overall financial statement presentation. We believe that our
audits provide a reasonable basis for our opinion.
As discussed in Note 1 to the Consolidated Financial Statements, effective as of December 31, 2005, the
Company adopted the provisions of FASB Interpretation No. 47, "Accounting for Conditional Asset Retirement
Obligations."
Internal control over financial reporting
Also, in our opinion, management’s assessment, included in “Management’s Report on Internal Control Over
Financial Reporting” in the accompanying index, that the Company maintained effective internal control over
financial reporting as of December 31, 2005 based on criteria established in Internal Control - Integrated
Framework issued by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission (COSO), is fairly
stated, in all material respects, based on those criteria. Furthermore, in our opinion, the Company maintained, in
all material respects, effective internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2005, based on criteria
established in Internal Control - Integrated Framework issued by COSO. The Company’s management is
responsible for maintaining effective internal control over financial reporting and for its assessment of the
effectiveness of internal control over financial reporting. Our responsibility is to express opinions on
management’s assessment and on the effectiveness of the Company’s internal control over financial reporting
based on our audit. We conducted our audit of internal control over financial reporting in accordance with the
standards of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States). Those standards require that we
plan and perform the audit to obtain reasonable assurance about whether effective internal control over financial
reporting was maintained in all material respects. An audit of internal control over financial reporting includes
obtaining an understanding of internal control over financial reporting, evaluating management’s assessment,
testing and evaluating the design and operating effectiveness of internal control, and performing such other
procedures as we consider necessary in the circumstances. We believe that our audit provides 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.