Goldman Sachs 2012 Annual Report Download - page 108

Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm
To the Board of Directors and the Shareholders of
The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc.:
In our opinion, the accompanying consolidated statements
of financial condition and the related consolidated
statements of earnings, comprehensive income, changes in
shareholders’ equity and cash flows present fairly, in all
material respects, the financial position of The Goldman
Sachs Group, Inc. and its subsidiaries (the Company) at
December 31, 2012 and 2011, and the results of its
operations and its cash flows for each of the three years in
the period ended December 31, 2012, 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, 2012,
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 105. Our
responsibility is to express opinions on these financial
statements and on the Company’s internal control over
financial reporting based on our 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.
PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP
New York, New York
February 28, 2013
106 Goldman Sachs 2012 Annual Report