JP Morgan Chase 2009 Annual Report Download - page 147

Report of independent registered public accounting firm
JPMorgan Chase & Co./2009 Annual Report 145
PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP • 300 Madison Avenue • New York, NY 10017
Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm
To the Board of Directors and Stockholders of JPMorgan
Chase & Co.:
In our opinion, the accompanying consolidated balance sheets and
the related consolidated statements of income, changes in stock-
holders’ equity and comprehensive income and cash flows present
fairly, in all material respects, the financial position of JPMorgan
Chase & Co. and its subsidiaries (the “Firm”) at December 31,
2009 and 2008, and the results of their operations and their cash
flows for each of the three years in the period ended December 31,
2009, in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted
in the United States of America. Also in our opinion, the Firm
maintained, in all material respects, effective internal control over
financial reporting as of December 31, 2009, based on criteria
established in Internal Control - Integrated Framework issued by
the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Com-
mission (COSO). The Firm'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 the accompany-
ing “Management's report on internal control over financial report-
ing.” Our responsibility is to express opinions on these financial
statements and on the Firm's internal control over financial report-
ing 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 support-
ing the amounts and disclosures in the financial statements, assess-
ing 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 finan-
cial 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 nec-
essary 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 ac-
counting 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 state-
ments 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 direc-
tors of the company; and (iii) provide reasonable assurance regard-
ing 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, projec-
tions 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.
February 24, 2010