American Express 2008 Annual Report Download - page 65

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[ 63 ]
report of independent registered public accounting firm
american express company
report of independent
registered public
accounting firm
the board of directors and shareholders of
american express company:
In our opinion, the accompanying consolidated balance sheets
and the related consolidated statements of income, of cash
flows and of shareholders’ equity present fairly, in all material
respects, the financial position of American Express Company
and its subsidiaries at December 31, 2008 and 2007, and the
results of their operations and their cash flows for each of
the three years in the period ended December 31, 2008 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, 2008, based on
criteria established in Internal Control - Integrated Framework
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 Management’s Report on Internal
Control Over Financial Reporting appearing on page 62.
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.
New York, New York
February 26, 2009
63