Avon 2009 Annual Report Download - page 66

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 therelated 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 itssub-
sidiaries at December 31, 2009 and December 31, 2008, and the
results of their operations and their cash flows foreach of the
three years in theperiod ended December 31, 2009 in conformity
with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States
of America.Inaddition, in our opinion, the financial statement
schedulelistedinItem15(a)(2)presents fairly, in all material
respects, theinformation setforth therein when read in con-
junction with the related consolidated financial statements. Also
in our opinion, theCompany maintained, in all material respects,
effective internal control over financial reporting as of
December31, 2009, based on criteria established in Internal
Control –Integrated Framework issued by the Committee 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 forits
assessment of the effectiveness of internal control over financial
reporting, included in Management’s Report on Internal Control
overFinancial Reporting, appearing in Item 9A. Our responsibility
is to express opinions on thesefinancial statements, on thefinan-
cial statement schedule, and on theCompany’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 andperform the audits to
obtainreasonable assurance about whether thefinancial state-
ments are free of material misstatement and whether effective
internal controlover financial reporting was maintained in all
materialrespects. Ouraudits of the financial statements included
examining, on atest basis, evidence supporting the amounts and
disclosures in thefinancial statements, assessing theaccounting
principles used and significant estimates made by management,
and evaluating theoverall financial statement presentation. Our
audit of internal control over financial reporting included obtain-
ing an understanding of internal control over financial reporting,
assessingthe risk that amaterial weakness exists, and testing and
evaluating the designand operating effectiveness of internal
control based on the assessed risk. Our audits also included per-
forming such other procedures as we considered necessary in the
circumstances. We believe that our audits provide areasonable
basis forour opinions.
As discussed in Note 2tothe consolidated financial statements,
in 2009the Company changed themanner in which it
accounts fornoncontrolling interests in subsidiaries. In 2007
the Company changed themanner in which it accounts for
uncertain tax positions.
Acompany’s internal control over financial reporting is aprocess
designed to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability
of financial reporting and the preparation of financial statements
for external purposes in accordance with generally accepted
accounting principles. Acompany’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 thetransactions and dispositions of the assets of
the company; (ii) provide reasonable assurance that transactions
arerecorded as necessary to permitpreparationoffinancial
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 manage-
ment 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 amaterial effect on the financial statements.
Because of its inherent limitations, internal control over financial
reporting maynot 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.
/s/ PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP
New York, New York
February 25, 2010