Ameriprise 2009 Annual Report Download - page 171

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, under the supervision and 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, 2009.
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
Our management is responsible for establishing and maintaining adequate internal control over financial reporting for the Company.
The Company’s internal control over financial reporting is a process designed by, or under the supervision of, the Company’s principal
executive and principal financial officers and effected by the Company’s Board of Directors, management and other personnel 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, with the participation of our Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer, assessed the effectiveness
of the Company’s internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2009. 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, 2009, 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, 2009.
156 ANNUAL REPORT 2009