United Technologies 2012 Annual Report Download - page 57

Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm 2012 ANNUAL REPORT 55
Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm
TO THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS AND SHAREOWNERS OF
UNITED TECHNOLOGIES CORPORATION:
In our opinion, the accompanying consolidated balance sheets and
the related consolidated statements of operations, of compre-
hensive income, of cash flows and of changes in equity present fair-
ly, in all material respects, the financial position of United
Technologies Corporation and its subsidiaries at December 31,
2012 and December 31, 2011, and the results of their operations
and their cash flows for each of the three years in the period ended
December 31, 2012 in conformity with accounting principles gen-
erally accepted in the United States of America. Also in our opinion,
the Corporation 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 Corporation’s manage-
ment is responsible for these financial statements, for maintaining
effective internal control over financial reporting and for its assess-
ment 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
opinions on these financial statements and on the Corporation’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 state-
ments 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 circum-
stances. We believe that our audits provide a reasonable basis for
our opinions.
A corporation’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 corporation’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 corporation; (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
corporation are being made only in accordance with authorizations
of management and directors of the corporation; and (iii) provide
reasonable assurance regarding prevention or timely detection of
unauthorized acquisition, use, or disposition of the corporation’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.
Hartford, Connecticut
February 7, 2013