Ameriprise 2008 Annual Report Download - page 165

Item 9. Changes in and Disagreements With Accountants on Accounting and Financial
Disclosure.
None.
Item 9A. Controls and Procedures.
Disclosure Controls and Procedures.
We maintain disclosure controls and procedures (as defined in Rules 13a-15(e) and 15d-15(e) of the Securities Exchange
Act of 1934, as amended (the ‘‘Exchange Act’’)) designed to provide reasonable assurance that the information required to
be reported in the Exchange Act filings is recorded, processed, summarized and reported within the time periods specified in
and pursuant to SEC regulations, including controls and procedures designed to ensure that this information is accumulated
and communicated to our management, including our Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer, as appropriate, to
allow timely decisions regarding the required disclosure. It should be noted that, because of inherent limitations, our
company’s disclosure controls and procedures, however well designed and operated, can provide only reasonable, and not
absolute, assurance that the objectives of the disclosure controls and procedures are met.
Our management, with the participation of our Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer, evaluated the effectiveness
of the disclosure controls and procedures as of the end of the period covered by this report. Based upon that evaluation, our
company’s Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer have concluded that our disclosure controls and procedures
were effective at a reasonable level of assurance as of December 31, 2008.
Changes in Internal Control over Financial Reporting.
There have not been any changes in our internal control over financial reporting (as such term is defined in Rules 13a-15(f)
and 15d-15(f) under the Exchange Act) during the fourth fiscal quarter of the year to which this report relates that have
materially affected, or are reasonably likely to materially affect, our company’s internal control over financial reporting.
Management’s Report on Internal Control Over Financial Reporting
The management of Ameriprise Financial, Inc. (the ‘‘Company’’) is responsible for establishing and maintaining adequate
internal control over financial reporting.
The 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 in the United States of America, and includes those policies and procedures that:
• Pertain to the maintenance of records that, in reasonable detail, accurately and fairly reflect the transactions and
dispositions of the assets of the Company;
• 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
• 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.
The Company’s management assessed the effectiveness of the Company’s internal control over financial reporting as of
December 31, 2008. In making this assessment, the Company’s management used the criteria set forth by the Committee of
Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission in Internal Control—Integrated Framework.
Based on management’s assessment and those criteria, we believe that, as of December 31, 2008, the Company’s internal
control over financial reporting is effective.
Ernst & Young LLP, the Company’s independent registered public accounting firm, has issued an audit report appearing on the
following page on the effectiveness of the Company’s internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2008.
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