Bank of Montreal 1999 Annual Report Download - page 104

98 Bank of Montreal Group of Companies 1999 Annual Report
Statement of Management’s Responsibility for Financial Information
Shareholders’ Auditors’ Report
The Bank’s management is responsible for presentation and
preparation of the annual consolidated financial statements,
Management Analysis of Operations (“MAO”) and all other
information in the Annual Report.
The consolidated financial statements have been prepared
in accordance with Canadian generally accepted accounting
principles and the requirements of the Securities and Exchange
Commission in the United States. The financial statements also
comply with the provisions of the Bank Act and related regula-
tions, including the accounting requirements of the Superinten-
dent
of Financial Institutions Canada.
The MAO has been prepared in accordance with the require-
ments of securities regulators including National Policy 47 of
the Canadian Securities Administrators as well as Item 303 of
Regulation S-K of the Securities Exchange Act, and their related
published requirements.
The consolidated financial statements and information in the
MAO necessarily include amounts based on informed judge-
ments and estimates of the expected effects of current events
and transactions with appropriate consideration to materiality.
In addition, in preparing the financial information we must
interpret the requirements described above, make determina-
tions as to the relevancy of information to be included, and make
estimates and assumptions that affect reported information.
The MAO also includes information regarding the estimated
impact of current transactions and events, sources of liquidity
and capital resources, operating trends, risks and uncertainties.
Actual results in the future may differ materially from our pre-
sent assessment of this information because future events and
circumstances may not occur as expected.
The financial information presented elsewhere in the Annual
Report is consistent with that in the consolidated financial
statements.
To the Shareholders of Bank of Montreal
We have audited the consolidated balance sheets of Bank of
Montreal as at October 31, 1999 and 1998 and the related con-
solidated statements of income, changes in shareholders’ equity
and cash flow for each of the years in the three-year period
ended October 31, 1999. These financial statements are the
responsibility of the Bank’s management. Our responsibility is
to express an opinion on these financial statements based on
our audits.
We conducted our audits in accordance with Canadian gen-
erally accepted auditing standards. Those standards require
that we plan and perform an audit to obtain reasonable assur-
ance whether the financial statements are free of material
In meeting our responsibility for the reliability of financial
information, we maintain and rely on a comprehensive system
of internal control and internal audit including organizational
and procedural controls and internal accounting controls. Our
system of internal control includes written communication of
our policies and procedures governing corporate conduct and
risk management; comprehensive business planning; effective
segregation of duties; delegation of authority and personal
accountability; careful selection and training of personnel; and
sound and conservative accounting policies which we regularly
update. This structure ensures appropriate internal control
over transactions, assets and records. We also regularly audit
internal controls. These controls and audits are designed to
provide us with reasonable assurance that the financial records
are reliable for preparing financial statements and other finan-
cial information, assets are safeguarded against unauthorized
use or disposition, liabilities are recognized, and we are in com-
pliance
with all regulatory requirements. In order to provide
their opinion on our consolidated financial statements, the Share-
holders’
Auditors review our system of internal control and con-
duct their work to the extent that they consider appropriate.
The Board of Directors is responsible for reviewing and
approving the financial information contained in the Annual
Report, including the MAO, and overseeing management’s
responsibilities for the presentation and preparation of finan-
cial information, maintenance of appropriate internal controls,
management and control of major risk areas and assessment
of significant and related party transactions. The Board dele-
gates these responsibilities to its Audit and Conduct Review
Committees comprised of non-Bank directors and its Risk
Review Committee.
The Shareholders’ Auditors and the Bank’s Chief Auditor have
full and free access to the Board of Directors and its committees
to discuss audit, financial reporting and related matters.
misstatement. An audit includes examining, on a test basis, evi-
dence supporting the amounts and disclosures in the financial
statements. An audit also includes assessing the accounting
principles used and significant estimates made by management,
as well as evaluating the overall financial statement presentation.
In our opinion, these consolidated financial statements present
fairly, in all material respects, the financial position of the Bank
as at October 31, 1999 and 1998 and the results of its operations
and its cash flow for each of the years in the three-year period
ended October 31, 1999 in accordance with Canadian generally
accepted accounting principles including the accounting require-
ments
of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions Canada.
F. Anthony Comper (signed) Robert B. Wells, C.A. (signed)
Chairman and Executive Vice-President, Treasurer
Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer
KPMG LLP (signed) PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP (signed) Canada
Chartered Accountants Chartered Accountants November 23, 1999