Ally Bank 2011 Annual Report Download - page 237

Table of Contents
Ally Financial Inc. • Form 10−K
Item 9. Changes in and Disagreements with Accountants on Accounting and Financial Disclosure
None.
Item 9A. Controls and Procedures
We maintain disclosure controls and procedures, as defined in Rule 13a−15(e) under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the Exchange
Act), designed to ensure that information required to be disclosed in reports filed under the Exchange Act is recorded, processed, summarized, and reported
within the specified time periods. Our disclosure controls and procedures are also designed to ensure that information required to be disclosed in the reports
we file and submit under the Exchange Act is accumulated and communicated to management, including our Chief Executive Officer (Principal Executive
Officer) and Senior Executive Vice President of Finance and Corporate Planning (Principal Financial Officer), to allow timely decisions regarding required
disclosure.
As of the end of the period covered by this report, our Principal Executive Officer and Principal Financial Officer evaluated, with the participation of
our management, the effectiveness of our disclosure controls and procedures and concluded that our disclosure controls and procedures were effective.
There were no changes in our internal controls over financial reporting (as defined in Rule 13a−15(f) of the Exchange Act) that occurred during our
most recent fiscal quarter that materially affected, or were reasonably likely to materially affect, our internal controls over financial reporting.
Our management, including our Principal Executive Officer and Principal Financial Officer, does not expect that our disclosure controls or our internal
controls will prevent or detect all errors and all fraud. A control system, no matter how well designed and operated, can provide only reasonable, not
absolute, assurance that the control system's objectives will be met. Further, the design of a control system must reflect the fact that there are resource
constraints, and the benefits of controls must be considered relative to their costs. Because of the inherent limitations in all control systems, no evaluation of
controls can provide absolute assurance that all control issues and instances of fraud, if any, within Ally have been detected. These inherent limitations
include the realities that judgments in decision−making can be faulty and that breakdowns can occur because of simple error or mistake. Controls can also
be circumvented by the individual acts of some persons, by collusion of two or more people, or by management override of the controls. The design of any
system of controls is based in part on certain assumptions about the likelihood of future events, and there can be no assurance that any design will succeed
in achieving its stated goals under all potential future conditions. Over time, controls may become inadequate because of changes in conditions or
deterioration in the degree of compliance with associated policies or procedures. Because of the inherent limitations in a cost−effective control system,
misstatements due to error or fraud may occur and not be detected.
Refer to Item 8 for Management's Report on Internal Control over Financial Reporting.
Item 9B. Other Information
None.
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