3M 2014 Annual Report Download - page 53

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47
Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm
To the Stockholders and Board of Directors of 3M Company
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 (the “Company”) at December 31, 2014 and 2013, and
the results of their operations and their cash flows for each of the three years in the period ended December 31, 2014 in
conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America. Also in our opinion, the
Company maintained, in all material respects, effective internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2014,
based on criteria established in Internal Control - Integrated Framework (2013) issued by the Committee of Sponsoring
Organizations of the Treadway Commission (COSO). The Company's management is responsible for these financial
statements, for maintaining effective internal control over financial reporting and for its assessment of the effectiveness of
internal control over financial reporting, included in the accompanying Management's Report on Internal Control over
Financial Reporting. Our responsibility is to express opinions on these financial statements and on the Company's
internal control over financial reporting based on our integrated audits. We conducted our audits in accordance with the
standards of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States). Those standards require that we plan and
perform the audits to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements are free of material
misstatement and whether effective internal control over financial reporting was maintained in all material respects. Our
audits of the financial statements included 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. Our audit of internal control over financial reporting included
obtaining an understanding of internal control over financial reporting, assessing the risk that a material weakness exists,
and testing and evaluating the design and operating effectiveness of internal control 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.
/s/ PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP
PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP
Minneapolis, Minnesota
February 12, 2015