Avon 2008 Annual Report Download - page 54

REPORT OF INDEPENDENT REGISTERED
PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM
To the Board of Directors and Shareholders of Avon Products, Inc.:
In our opinion, the accompanying consolidated balance sheets
and the related consolidated statements of income, cash flows
and changes in shareholders’ equity present fairly, in all material
respects, the financial position of Avon Products Inc. and its
subsidiaries at December 31, 2008 and December 31, 2007, and
the results of their operations and their cash flows for each of
the three years in the period ended December 31, 2008 in
conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the
United States of America. In addition, in our opinion, the
financial statement schedule listed in Item 15(a)(2) presents fair-
ly, in all material respects, the information set forth therein when
read in conjunction with the related consolidated financial
statements. Also in our opinion, the Company maintained, in all
material respects, effective internal control over financial report-
ing as of December 31, 2008, based on criteria established in
Internal Control – Integrated Framework issued by the Commit-
tee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission
(COSO). The Company’s management is responsible for these
financial statements and financial statement schedule, for
maintaining effective internal control over financial reporting
and for its assessment of the effectiveness of internal control
over financial reporting, included in Management’s Report on
Internal Control Over Financial Reporting, appearing in Item 9A.
Our responsibility is to express opinions on these financial state-
ments, on the financial statement schedule, and on the
Company’s internal control over financial reporting based on our
integrated 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 financial statements are free of material misstate-
ment and whether effective internal control over financial report-
ing was maintained in all material respects. Our audits of the
financial statements included examining, on a test basis,
evidence supporting the amounts and disclosures in the financial
statements, assessing the accounting principles used and
significant estimates made by management, and evaluating the
overall financial statement presentation. Our audit of internal
control over financial reporting included obtaining an under-
standing of internal control over financial reporting, assessing
the risk that a material weakness exists, and testing and evaluat-
ing 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 circum-
stances. We believe that our audits provide a reasonable basis
for our opinions.
As discussed in Note 2 to the consolidated financial statements,
in 2007 the Company changed the manner in which it accounts
for uncertain tax positions. In 2006, the Company changed the
manner in which it accounts for pension and other post-
retirement benefit plans.
A company’s internal control over financial reporting is a process
designed to provide reasonable assurance regarding the relia-
bility of financial reporting and the preparation of financial
statements for external purposes in accordance with generally
accepted accounting principles. A company’s internal control
over financial reporting includes those policies and procedures
that (i) pertain to the maintenance of records that, in reasonable
detail, accurately and fairly reflect the transactions and disposi-
tions of the assets of the company; (ii) provide reasonable assur-
ance that transactions are recorded as necessary to permit
preparation of financial statements in accordance with generally
accepted accounting principles, and that receipts and expen-
ditures 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 effect on the
financial statements.
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 com-
pliance with the policies or procedures may deteriorate.
/s/ PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP
New York, New York
February 20, 2009