Assurant 2014 Annual Report Download - page 80

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66 ASSURANT, INC. – 2014 Form 10-K
PART II
ITEM 8 Financial Statements and Supplementary Data
ITEM 8 Financial Statements and Supplementary Data
The consolidated fi nancial statements and fi nancial statement schedules in Part IV, Item 15(a) 1 and 2 of this report are
incorporated by reference into this Item 8.
ITEM 9 Changes in and Disagreements with
Accountants on Accounting and Financial
Disclosure
There have been no disagreements with accountants on accounting and fi nancial disclosure.
ITEM 9A Controls and Procedures
Evaluation of Disclosure Controls and Procedures
The Company’s Chief Executive Offi cer and Chief Financial
Offi cer have evaluated the effectiveness of the Company’s
disclosure controls and procedures pursuant to Rule 13a-15
under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the
“Exchange Act”) as of December 31, 2014. They have concluded
that the Company’s disclosure controls and procedures are
effective, and provide reasonable assurance that information
the Company is required to disclose in its reports under the
Exchange Act is recorded, processed, summarized and reported
accurately. They also have concluded that information that
the Company is required to disclose is accumulated and
communicated to the Company’s management as appropriate
to allow timely decisions regarding required disclosure.
Management’s Annual Report on Internal Control Over Financial Reporting
The management of the Company is responsible for establishing
and maintaining adequate internal control over fi nancial
reporting for the Company as defi ned in Rule 13a-15(f) under
the Exchange Act.
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 accounting principles generally accepted in the U.S.
A company’s internal control over fi nancial reporting
includes policies and procedures that (1) 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; (2) provide reasonable assurance
that transactions are recorded as necessary to permit
preparation of fi nancial statements in accordance with
accounting principles generally accepted in the U.S., and
that receipts and expenditures 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 nancial 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.
The Company’s management assessed its internal control over
fi nancial reporting as of December 31, 2014 using criteria
established in Internal Control — Integrated Framework (2013)
issued by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the
Treadway Commission (COSO).