Assurant 2010 Annual Report Download - page 71

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F-1ASSURANT, INC.2010 Form 10K
Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm
To the Board of Directors and Stockholders of Assurant, Inc.:
In our opinion, the consolidated fi nancial statements listed in the index
appearing under Item 15(a)1 present fairly, in all material respects, the
fi nancial position of Assurant, Inc. and its subsidiaries (the “Company”)
at December 31, 2010 and 2009, and the results of its operations
and its cash fl ows for each of the three years in the period ended
December 31, 2010 in conformity with accounting principles generally
accepted in the United States of America. In addition, in our opinion,
the fi nancial statement schedules listed in the index appearing under
Item 15(a)2 present fairly, in all material respects, the information set
forth therein when read in conjunction with the related consolidated
fi nancial statements. Also in our opinion, the Company maintained, in
all material respects, eff ective internal control over fi nancial reporting
as of December 31, 2010, based on criteria established in Internal
Control—Integrated Framework issued by the Committee of Sponsoring
Organizations of the Treadway Commission (COSO).  e Company’s
management is responsible for these fi nancial statements and fi nancial
statement schedules, for maintaining eff ective internal control over
fi nancial reporting and for its assessment of the eff ectiveness of internal
control over fi nancial reporting, included in Management’s Annual
Report on Internal Control Over Financial Reporting, appearing under
Item 9A. Our responsibility is to express opinions on these fi nancial
statements, on the fi nancial statement schedules, and on the Company’s
internal control over fi nancial reporting based on our integrated
audits. We conducted our audits in accordance with the standards of
the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States).
ose standards require that we plan and perform the audits to obtain
reasonable assurance about whether the fi nancial statements are free
of material misstatement and whether eff ective internal control over
fi nancial reporting was maintained in all material respects. Our audits
of the fi nancial statements included examining, on a test basis, evidence
supporting the amounts and disclosures in the fi nancial statements,
assessing the accounting principles used and signifi cant estimates
made by management, and evaluating the overall fi nancial statement
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 weakness exists, and testing
and evaluating the design and operating eff ectiveness 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.
As discussed in Note 2 to the consolidated fi nancial statements, the
Company changed the manner in which it accounts for other-than
temporary impairment of debt securities on April 1, 2009 and its method
of accounting related to fair value measurements on January 1, 2008.
A company’s internal control over fi nancial reporting is a process 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 (i) pertain to the maintenance of records
that, in reasonable detail, accurately and fairly refl ect the transactions
and dispositions of the assets of the company; (ii) 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 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
eff ect on the fi nancial statements.
Because of its inherent limitations, internal control over fi nancial
reporting may not prevent or detect misstatements. Also, projections
of any evaluation of eff ectiveness 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 23, 2011