Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines 2011 Annual Report Download - page 70

2011 ANNUAL REPORT 66
REPORT OF INDEPENDENT REGISTERED CERTIFIED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM
TO THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS AND SHAREHOLDERS
OF ROYAL CARIBBEAN CRUISES, LTD.
In our opinion, the accompanying consolidated balance
sheets and the related consolidated statements of
operations, shareholders’ equity and cash flows pres-
ent fairly, in all material respects, the financial position
of Royal Caribbean Cruises, Ltd. and its subsidiaries
at December 31, 2011 and 2010, and the results of their
operations and their cash flows for each of the three
years in the period ended December 31, 2011 in con-
formity 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, 2011, based on criteria established
in Internal Control—Integrated Framework issued by
the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the
Treadway Commission (COSO). The Company’s man-
agement 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 under Item 9A. Our
responsibility is to express opinions on these financial
statements and on the Company’s internal control
over financial reporting 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 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 preven-
tion 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 compli-
ance with the policies or procedures may deteriorate.
/s/ PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP
PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP
Miami, Florida
February 29, 2012