DTE Energy 2012 Annual Report Download - page 51

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Table of Contents
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(a) Evaluation of disclosure controls and procedures
Management of the Company carried out an evaluation, under the supervision and with the participation of DTE Energy’s Chief Executive Officer
(CEO) and Chief Financial Officer (CFO), of the effectiveness of the design and operation of the Company’s disclosure controls and procedures (as defined in
Exchange Act Rules 13a-15(e) and 15d-15(e)) as of December 31, 2012, which is the end of the period covered by this report. Based on this evaluation, the
Company’s CEO and CFO have concluded that such disclosure controls and procedures are effective in providing reasonable assurance that information
required to be disclosed by the Company in reports that it files or submits under the Exchange Act (i) is recorded, processed, summarized and reported within
the time periods specified in the SEC’s rules and forms and (ii) is accumulated and communicated to the Company’s management, including its CEO and
CFO, as appropriate to allow timely decisions regarding required disclosure. Due to the inherent limitations in the effectiveness of any disclosure controls and
procedures, management cannot provide absolute assurance that the objectives of its disclosure controls and procedures will be attained.
(b) Management’s report on internal control over financial reporting
Management of the Company is responsible for establishing and maintaining adequate internal control over financial reporting as such term is defined in
Exchange Act Rules 13a-15(f) and 15d-15(f). Internal control over financial reporting is a process designed by, or under the supervision of, our CEO and
CFO, 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.
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.
Management of the Company has assessed the effectiveness of the Company’s internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2012. In
making this assessment, management used the criteria set forth by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission (COSO) in
Internal Control — Integrated Framework. Based on this assessment, management concluded that, as of December 31, 2012, the Company’s internal
control over financial reporting was effective based on those criteria.
The effectiveness of the Company’s internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2012 has been audited by PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP,
an independent registered public accounting firm who also audited the Company’s financial statements, as stated in their report which appears herein.
(c) Changes in internal control over financial reporting
There have been no changes in the Company’s internal control over financial reporting during the quarter ended December 31, 2012 that have materially
affected, or are reasonably likely to materially affect, the Company’s internal control over financial reporting.
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