Abbott Laboratories 2015 Annual Report Download - page 60

ABBOTT 2015 ANNUAL REPORT
58
REPORTS OF INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM
The Board of Directors and Shareholders of Abbott Laboratories:
We have audited the accompanying consolidated balance sheets of
Abbott Laboratories and subsidiariesas of December 31, 2015 and
2014, and the related consolidated statements of earnings,compre-
hensive income, shareholders’ investment and cash flows for each
of the two years in the period ended December 31, 2015. These
financial statements are the responsibility of the Company’s man-
agement. Our responsibility is to express an opinion on these
financial statements based on our 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 audit to
obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial state-
ments are free of material misstatement. An audit includes
examining, on a test basis, evidence supporting the amounts and
disclosures in the financial statements. An audit also includes
assessing the accounting principles used and significant estimates
made by management, as well as evaluating the overall financial
statement presentation. We believe that our audits provide a
reasonable basis for our opinion.
In our opinion, the financial statements referred to above present
fairly, in all material respects, the consolidated financial position
of Abbott Laboratories and subsidiaries at December 31, 2015 and
2014, and the consolidated results of their operations and their
cash flows for each of the two years in the period ended December
31, 2015, in conformity with U.S. generally accepted accounting
principles.
As discussed in Note 1 to the consolidated financial statements, the
Company changed its method for classifying deferred tax liabili-
ties and assets as a result of the adoption of the amendments to the
FASB Accounting Standards Codification resulting from
Accounting Standards Update No. 2015-17, “Income Taxes (Topic
740),” eective December 31, 2015.
We also have audited, in accordance with the standards of the
Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States),
Abbott Laboratories and subsidiaries’ internal control over finan-
cial reporting as of December 31, 2015, based on criteria
established in Internal Control-Integrated Framework issued by
the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway
Commission (2013 framework), and our report dated February 19,
2016 expressed an unqualified opinion thereon.
Ernst & Young LLP
Chicago, Illinois
February 19, 2016
The Board of Directors and Shareholders of Abbott Laboratories:
We have audited Abbott Laboratories and subsidiaries’ internal
control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2015, based on
criteria established in Internal Control—Integrated Framework
issued by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the
Treadway Commission (2013 framework) (the COSO criteria).
Abbott Laboratories and subsidiaries’ management is responsible
for maintaining eective internal control over financial reporting,
and for its assessment of the eectiveness of internal control over
financial reporting included in the accompanying Management
Report on Internal Control Over Financial Reporting. Our respon-
sibility is to express an opinion on the company’s internal control
over financial reporting based on our audit.
We conducted our audit in accordance with the standards of the
Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States).
Those standards require that we plan and perform the audit to
obtain reasonable assurance about whether eective internal
control over financial reporting was maintained in all material
respects. Our audit included obtaining an understanding of inter-
nal control over financial reporting, assessing the risk that a
material weakness exists, testing and evaluating the design and
operating eectiveness of internal control based on the assessed
risk, and performing such other procedures as we considered
necessary in the circumstances. We believe that our audit provides
a reasonable basis for our opinion.
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 (1) pertain to
the maintenance of records that, in reasonable detail, accurately
and fairly reflect the transactions and dispositions of the assets of
the company; (2) 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 manage-
ment and directors of the company; and (3) provide reasonable
assurance regarding prevention or timely detection of unautho-
rized acquisition, use, or disposition of the company’s assets that
could have a material eect 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 eectiveness 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.
In our opinion, Abbott Laboratories and subsidiaries maintained,
in all material respects, eective internal control over financial
reporting as of December 31, 2015, based on the COSO criteria.
We also have audited, in accordance with the standards of the
Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States), the
consolidated balance sheets of Abbott Laboratories and subsidiar-
ies as of December 31, 2015 and 2014, and the related consolidated
statements of earnings, comprehensive income, shareholders’
investment and cash flows for each of the two years in the period
ended December 31, 2015 of Abbott Laboratories and subsidiaries
and our report dated February 19, 2016 expressed an unqualified
opinion thereon.
Ernst & Young LLP
Chicago, Illinois
February 19, 2016