GE 2013 Annual Report Download - page 35

GE 2013 ANNUAL REPORT 33
Report of Independent Registered
Public Accounting Firm
To Shareowners and Board of Directors
of General Electric Company:
We have audited the statement of fi nancial position of General
Electric Company and consolidated affi liates (the “Company”)
as of December 31, 2013 and 2012, and the related statements
of earnings, comprehensive income, changes in shareowners’
equity and cash fl ows for each of the years in the three-year
period ended December 31, 2013 appearing on pages 70 through
138. We also have audited the Company’s internal control over
fi nancial reporting as of December 31, 2013, based on criteria
established in Internal Control—Integrated Framework (1992)
issued by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the
Treadway Commission (“COSO”). The Company’s management
is responsible for these consolidated fi nancial statements, for
maintaining effective internal control over fi nancial reporting,
and for its assessment of the effectiveness of internal control
over fi nancial reporting. Our responsibility is to express an opin-
ion on these consolidated fi nancial statements and an opinion on
the Company’s internal control over fi nancial reporting based on
our 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 fi nancial state-
ments are free of material misstatement and whether effective
internal control over fi nancial reporting was maintained in all
material respects. Our audits of the consolidated fi nancial state-
ments included examining, on a test basis, evidence supporting
the amounts and disclosures in the fi nancial statements, assess-
ing the accounting principles used and signifi cant estimates
made by management, and evaluating the overall fi nancial state-
ment presentation. Our audit of internal control over fi nancial
reporting included obtaining an understanding of internal control
over fi nancial reporting, assessing the risk that a material weak-
ness 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 fi nancial reporting is a pro-
cess designed to provide reasonable assurance regarding the
reliability of fi nancial reporting and the preparation of fi nancial
statements for external purposes in accordance with generally
accepted accounting principles. A company’s internal control
over fi nancial reporting includes those policies and procedures
that (1) pertain to the maintenance of records that, in reason-
able detail, accurately and fairly refl ect the transactions and
dispositions of the assets of the company; (2) provide reasonable
assurance that transactions are recorded as necessary to permit
preparation of fi nancial statements in accordance with generally
accepted accounting principles, and that receipts and expendi-
tures of the company are being made only in accordance with
authorizations of management and directors of the company;
and (3) 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
fi nancial statements.
Because of its inherent limitations, internal control over fi nan-
cial 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 compli-
ance with the policies or procedures may deteriorate.
In our opinion, the consolidated fi nancial statements
referred to above present fairly, in all material respects, the
fi nancial position of General Electric Company and consol-
idated affi liates as of December 31, 2013 and 2012, and the
results of their operations and their cash fl ows for each of the
years in the three-year period ended December 31, 2013, in
conformity with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles.
Also in our opinion, the Company maintained, in all material
respects, effective internal control over fi nancial reporting as
of December 31, 2013, based on criteria established in Internal
Control—Integrated Framework (1992) issued by COSO.
Our audits of the consolidated fi nancial statements were
made for the purpose of forming an opinion on the consoli-
dated fi nancial statements taken as a whole. The accompanying
consolidating information appearing on pages 71, 73 and 75 is
presented for purposes of additional analysis of the consolidated
fi nancial statements rather than to present the fi nancial position,
results of operations and cash fl ows of the individual entities.
The consolidating information has been subjected to the audit-
ing procedures applied in the audits of the consolidated fi nancial
statements and, in our opinion, is fairly stated in all material
respects in relation to the consolidated fi nancial statements
taken as a whole.
KPMG LLP
Stamford, Connecticut
February 27, 2014