Blizzard 2011 Annual Report Download - page 46

Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm
To the Board of Directors and Shareholders of Activision Blizzard, Inc.:
In our opinion, the accompanying consolidated balance sheets and the related consolidated statements of operations, changes in
shareholders’ equity and cash flows, present fairly, in all material respects, the financial position of Activision Blizzard, Inc. and
its subsidiaries at December 31, 2011 and 2010, and the results of their operations and their cash flows for each of the three years
in the period ended December 31, 2011 in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of
America. Also in our opinion, the Company maintained, in all material respects, effective internal control over financial
reporting as of December 31, 2011, 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, 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 on page 29 of this Annual Report to Shareholders. Our responsibility is to express opinions on these
financial statements, 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 misstatement and whether effective internal control over financial reporting 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 understanding of internal control over financial reporting, assessing the risk that a material weakness
exists, and testing and evaluating 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 circumstances. We believe that our audits
provide a reasonable basis for our opinions.
A company’s internal control over financial reporting is a process 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. 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 dispositions
of the assets of the company; (ii) provide reasonable assurance that transactions are recorded as necessary to permit preparation
of financial 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 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 compliance with the policies or procedures may deteriorate.
Los Angeles, California
February 28, 2012
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