AIG 2010 Annual Report Download - page 212

American International Group, Inc., and Subsidiaries
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, 2010 and 2009, and the results of their operations and their cash flows for each of the three years
in the period ended December 31, 2010 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, 2010, 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 in the 2010 Form 10-K. 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 2 to the consolidated financial statements, AIG changed the manner in which it accounts
for other-than-temporary impairments of fixed maturity securities as of April 1, 2009, as well as the classification
of non-controlling interests in partially owned consolidated subsidiaries as of January 1, 2009. Also, 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.
As described in Note 1 to the consolidated financial statements, AIG completed a series of integrated transactions
to recapitalize AIG with the Department of Treasury, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York and the AIG Credit
Facility Trust on January 14, 2011.
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.
196 AIG 2010 Form 10-K