Freeport-McMoRan 2011 Annual Report Download - page 68

REPORT OF INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM
66 | FREEPORT-McMoRan COPPER & GOLD INC.
TO THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS AND STOCKHOLDERS OF
FREEPORT-MMR COPPER & GOLD INC.
We have audited Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc.’s internal
control over nancial 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 (the COSO criteria). Freeport-McMoRan
Copper & Gold Inc.’s management is responsible for maintaining
eective internal control over nancial reporting, and for its
assessment of the eectiveness of internal control over nancial
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
nancial reporting based on our audit.
We conducted our audit in accordance with the standards of the
Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States).
ose standards require that we plan and perform the audit to
obtain reasonable assurance about whether eective internal
control over nancial reporting was maintained in all material
respects. Our audit included obtaining an understanding of
internal control over nancial reporting, assessing the risk that a
material weakness exists, testing and evaluating the design and
operating eectiveness 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 nancial reporting is a
process designed to provide reasonable assurance regarding the
reliability of nancial reporting and the preparation of nancial
statements for external purposes in accordance with generally
accepted accounting principles. A company’s internal control over
nancial reporting includes those policies and procedures that
(1) pertain to the maintenance of records that, in reasonable detail,
accurately and fairly reect the transactions and dispositions of the
assets of the company; (2) provide reasonable assurance that
transactions are recorded as necessary to permit preparation of
nancial 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 eect on the nancial statements.
Because of its inherent limitations, internal control over
nancial reporting may not prevent or detect misstatements. Also,
projections of any evaluation of eectiveness 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, eective internal control
over nancial reporting as of December31,2011, 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, 2011 and 2010 and the related consolidated
statements of income, equity and cash ows for each of the three
years in the period ended December31,2011, and our report dated
February 27, 2012 expressed an unqualied opinion thereon.
ERNST & YOUNG LLP
Phoenix, Arizona
February 27, 2012