Duke Energy 2015 Annual Report Download - page 232

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PART II
ITEM 9. CHANGES IN AND DISAGREEMENTS WITH ACCOUNTANTS ON ACCOUNTING AND FINANCIAL DISCLOSURE
None.
ITEM 9A. CONTROLS AND PROCEDURES
Disclosure Controls and Procedures
Disclosure controls and procedures are controls and other procedures
that are designed to ensure that information required to be disclosed by the
Duke Energy Registrants in the reports they file or submit under the Securities
Exchange Act of 1934 (Exchange Act) is recorded, processed, summarized and
reported, within the time periods specified by the SEC rules and forms.
Disclosure controls and procedures include, without limitation, controls
and procedures designed to provide reasonable assurance that information
required to be disclosed by the Duke Energy Registrants in the reports they
file or submit under the Exchange Act is accumulated and communicated to
management, including the Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer,
as appropriate, to allow timely decisions regarding required disclosure.
Under the supervision and with the participation of management, including
the Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer, the Duke Energy Registrants
have evaluated the effectiveness of their disclosure controls and procedures (as
such term is defined in Rule 13a-15(e) and 15d-15(e) under the Exchange Act)
as of December 31, 2015, and, based upon this evaluation, the Chief Executive
Officer and Chief Financial Officer have concluded that these controls and
procedures are effective in providing reasonable assurance of compliance.
Changes in Internal Control Over Financial Reporting
Under the supervision and with the participation of management,
including the Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer, the Duke Energy
Registrants have evaluated changes in internal control over financial reporting
(as such term is defined in Rules 13a-15(f) and 15d-15(f) under the Exchange
Act) that occurred during the fiscal quarter ended December 31, 2015, and
have concluded no change has materially affected, or is reasonably likely to
materially affect, internal control over financial reporting.
Management’s Annual Report On Internal Control Over Financial Reporting
The Duke Energy Registrants’ management is responsible for establishing
and maintaining an adequate system of internal control over financial reporting,
as such term is defined in Exchange Act Rules 13a−15(f) and 15d−15(f).
The Duke Energy Registrants’ internal control system was 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 in the United States. Due to inherent
limitations, internal control over financial reporting may not prevent or detect
misstatements. Also, projections of any evaluation of effectiveness of the
internal control over financial reporting 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 policies and procedures may deteriorate.
The Duke Energy Registrants’ management, including their Chief
Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer, has conducted an evaluation of the
effectiveness of their internal control over financial reporting as of December 31,
2015, based on the framework in the Internal Control – Integrated Framework
(2013) issued by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway
Commission. Based on that evaluation, management concluded that its internal
controls over financial reporting were effective as of December 31, 2015.
Deloitte & Touche LLP, Duke Energy’s independent registered public
accounting firm, has issued an attestation report on the effectiveness of Duke
Energy’s internal control over financial reporting. This attestation report is
included in Part II, Item 8 of this Form 10-K. This report is not applicable to
the Subsidiary Registrants as these companies are not accelerated or large
accelerated filers.