American Express 2012 Annual Report Download - page 60

Download and view the complete annual report

Please find page 60 of the 2012 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 120

  • 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

AMERICAN EXPRESS COMPANY
REPORT OF INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM
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,
comprehensive income, cash flows and shareholders’ equity
present fairly, in all material respects, the financial position of
American Express Company and its subsidiaries at December 31,
2012 and 2011, and the results of their operations and their cash
flows for each of the years in the three-year period ended
December 31, 2012, 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, 2012, 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 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.
New York, New York
February 22, 2013
58