AIG 2008 Annual Report Download - page 197

Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm
To the Board of Directors and Shareholders of American International Group, Inc.:
In our opinion, the consolidated financial statements listed in the accompanying index present fairly, in all
material respects, the financial position of American International Group, Inc. and its subsidiaries (AIG) at
December 31, 2008 and 2007, and the results of their operations and their cash flows for each of the three years
in the period ended December 31, 2008 in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United
States of America. In addition, in our opinion, the financial statement schedules listed in the accompanying index
present fairly, in all material respects, the information set forth therein when read in conjunction with the related
consolidated financial statements. Also in our opinion, AIG maintained, in all material respects, effective internal
control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2008, based on criteria established in Internal Control —
Integrated Framework issued by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission (COSO).
AIG’s management is responsible for these financial statements and financial statement schedules, 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, on the financial statement schedules,
and on AIG’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.
As described in Note 1 to the consolidated financial statements, as of January 1, 2008, AIG adopted a new
framework for measuring fair value and elected an option to report selected financial assets and liabilities at fair
value. Also, AIG changed the manner in which it accounts for internal replacements of certain insurance and
investment contracts, uncertainty in income taxes, and changes or projected changes in the timing of cash flows
relating to income taxes generated by leveraged lease transactions on January 1, 2007, and certain employee benefit
plans as of December 31, 2006.
As discussed in Notes 1 and 23 to the consolidated financial statements, AIG has received substantial financial
support from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York (NY Fed) and the United States Department of Treasury
(US Treasury). AIG is dependent upon the continued financial support of the NY Fed and US Treasury.
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.
/s/ PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP
New York, New York
March 2, 2009
AIG 2008 Form 10-K 191
American International Group, Inc., and Subsidiaries