Freeport-McMoRan 2008 Annual Report Download - page 65

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Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm
2008 Annual Report FREEPORT-McMoRan COPPER & GOLD INC. 63
TO THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS AND STOCKHOLDERS
OF FREEPORT-McMoRan COPPER & GOLD INC.
We have audited Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc.’s
internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2008,
based on criteria established in Internal Control-Integrated
Framework issued by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations
of the Treadway Commission (the COSO criteria). Freeport-
McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc.’s management is responsible for
maintaining effective internal control over financial reporting, and
for its assessment of the effectiveness of internal control over
financial reporting included in the accompanying Management’s
Report on Internal Control Over Financial Reporting. Our
responsibility is to express an opinion on the company’s internal
control over financial reporting based on our audit.
We conducted our audit in accordance with the standards of
the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States).
Those standards require that we plan and perform the audit to
obtain reasonable assurance about whether effective internal
control over financial reporting was maintained in all material
respects. Our audit included obtaining an understanding of
internal control over financial reporting, assessing the risk that a
material weakness exists, testing and evaluating the design and
operating effectiveness of internal control based on the assessed
risk, and performing such other procedures as we considered
necessary in the circumstances. We believe that our audit
provides a reasonable basis for our opinion.
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
(1) pertain to the maintenance of records that, in reasonable
detail, accurately and fairly reflect the transactions and
dispositions of the assets of the company; (2) 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 (3) 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.
In our opinion, Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc.
maintained, in all material respects, effective internal control
over financial reporting as of December 31, 2008, based on the
COSO criteria.
We also have audited, in accordance with the standards of the
Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States),
the consolidated balance sheets of Freeport-McMoRan Copper &
Gold Inc. as of December 31, 2008 and 2007 and the related
consolidated statements of operations, stockholders’ equity and
cash flows for each of the three years in the period ended
December 31, 2008, and our report dated February 18, 2009
expressed an unqualified opinion thereon.
ERNST & YOUNG LLP
Phoenix, Arizona
February 18, 2009