American Express 2012 Annual Report Download - page 59

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AMERICAN EXPRESS COMPANY
MANAGEMENT’S REPORT ON INTERNAL CONTROL OVER FINANCIAL REPORTING
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, 2012. 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, 2012, 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, 2012.
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