American Express 2009 Annual Report Download - page 68

Download and view the complete annual report

Please find page 68 of the 2009 American Express annual report below. You can navigate through the pages in the report by either clicking on the pages listed below, or by using the keyword search tool below to find specific information within the annual report.

Page out of 134

  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • 5
  • 6
  • 7
  • 8
  • 9
  • 10
  • 11
  • 12
  • 13
  • 14
  • 15
  • 16
  • 17
  • 18
  • 19
  • 20
  • 21
  • 22
  • 23
  • 24
  • 25
  • 26
  • 27
  • 28
  • 29
  • 30
  • 31
  • 32
  • 33
  • 34
  • 35
  • 36
  • 37
  • 38
  • 39
  • 40
  • 41
  • 42
  • 43
  • 44
  • 45
  • 46
  • 47
  • 48
  • 49
  • 50
  • 51
  • 52
  • 53
  • 54
  • 55
  • 56
  • 57
  • 58
  • 59
  • 60
  • 61
  • 62
  • 63
  • 64
  • 65
  • 66
  • 67
  • 68
  • 69
  • 70
  • 71
  • 72
  • 73
  • 74
  • 75
  • 76
  • 77
  • 78
  • 79
  • 80
  • 81
  • 82
  • 83
  • 84
  • 85
  • 86
  • 87
  • 88
  • 89
  • 90
  • 91
  • 92
  • 93
  • 94
  • 95
  • 96
  • 97
  • 98
  • 99
  • 100
  • 101
  • 102
  • 103
  • 104
  • 105
  • 106
  • 107
  • 108
  • 109
  • 110
  • 111
  • 112
  • 113
  • 114
  • 115
  • 116
  • 117
  • 118
  • 119
  • 120
  • 121
  • 122
  • 123
  • 124
  • 125
  • 126
  • 127
  • 128
  • 129
  • 130
  • 131
  • 132
  • 133
  • 134

MANAGEMENT’S REPORT ON INTERNAL CONTROL OVER FINANCIAL REPORTING
AMERICAN EXPRESS COMPANY
MANAGEMENT’S REPORT ON
INTERNAL CONTROL OVER
FINANCIAL REPORTING
The management of the Company is responsible for
establishing and maintaining adequate internal control over
financial reporting.
The 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
GAAP in the United States of America, and includes those
policies and procedures that:
폷Pertain to the maintenance of records that, in reasonable
detail, accurately and fairly reflect the transactions and
dispositions of the assets of the Company;
폷Provide reasonable assurance that transactions are recorded
as necessary to permit preparation of financial statements
in accordance with GAAP, and that receipts and
expenditures of the Company are being made only in
accordance with authorizations of management and
directors of the Company; and
폷Provide 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 Company’s management assessed the effectiveness of
the Company’s internal control over financial reporting as of
December 31, 2009. In making this assessment, the
Company’s management used the criteria set forth by the
Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway
Commission (COSO) in Internal Control — Integrated
Framework.
Based on management’s assessment and those criteria, we
conclude that, as of December 31, 2009, the Company’s
internal control over financial reporting is effective.
PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, the Company’s
independent registered public accounting firm, has issued an
attestation report appearing on the following page on the
effectiveness of the Company’s internal control over financial
reporting as of December 31, 2009.
66