Ameriprise 2013 Annual Report Download - page 55

materially adversely affected by their actions and decisions. Potential measures taken by foreign and international
authorities also include the nationalization or expropriation of assets, the imposition of limits on foreign ownership of local
companies, changes in laws (including tax laws and regulations) and in their application or interpretation, imposition of
large fines, political instability, dividend limitations, price controls, changes in applicable currency, currency exchange
controls, or other restrictions that prevent us from transferring funds from these operations out of the countries in which
they operate or converting local currencies we hold to U.S. dollars or other currencies. Any of these changes or actions
may negatively affect our business. We expect the scope and extent or regulation outside the U.S., as well as general
regulatory oversight, to continue to increase.
We may not be able to protect our intellectual property and may be subject to infringement claims.
We rely on a combination of contractual rights and copyright, trademark, patent and trade secret laws to establish and
protect our intellectual property. Although we use a broad range of measures to protect our intellectual property rights,
third parties may infringe or misappropriate our intellectual property. We may have to litigate to enforce and protect our
copyrights, trademarks, patents, trade secrets and know-how or to determine their scope, validity or enforceability, which
represents a diversion of resources that may be significant in amount and may not prove successful. The loss of
intellectual property protection or the inability to secure or enforce the protection of our intellectual property assets could
have a material adverse effect on our business and our ability to compete.
We also may be subject to costly litigation in the event that another party alleges our operations or activities infringe upon
such other party’s intellectual property rights. Third parties may have, or may eventually be issued, patents or other
protections that could be infringed by our products, methods, processes or services or could otherwise limit our ability to
offer certain product features. Any party that holds such a patent could make a claim of infringement against us. We may
also be subject to claims by third parties for breach of copyright, trademark, license usage rights, or misappropriation of
trade secret rights. Any such claims and any resulting litigation could result in significant liability for damages. If we were
found to have infringed or misappropriated a third-party patent or other intellectual property rights, we could incur
substantial liability, and in some circumstances could be enjoined from providing certain products or services to our
customers or utilizing and benefiting from certain methods, processes, copyrights, trademarks, trade secrets or licenses, or
alternatively could be required to enter into costly licensing arrangements with third parties, all of which could have a
material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.
Changes in and the adoption of accounting standards or inaccurate estimates or assumptions in applying
accounting policies could have a material impact on our financial statements.
Our accounting policies and methods are fundamental to how we record and report our financial condition and results of
operations. Some of these policies require use of estimates and assumptions that may affect the reported value of our
assets or liabilities and results of operations and are critical because they require management to make difficult,
subjective, and complex judgments about matters that are inherently uncertain. If those assumptions, estimates or
judgments were incorrectly made, we could be required to correct and restate prior-period financial statements.
We prepare our financial statements in accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles. From time to time,
the Financial Accounting Standards Board, the SEC and other regulators may change the financial accounting and
reporting standards governing the preparation of our financial statements. In some cases, we could be required to apply a
new or revised standard retroactively, resulting in our restating prior period financial statements. These changes are difficult
to predict, and could impose additional governance, internal control and disclosure demands. It is possible that such
changes could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations.
Changes in U.S. federal income or estate tax law could make some of our products less attractive to clients.
Many of the products we issue or on which our businesses are based (including both insurance products and
non-insurance products) enjoy favorable treatment under current U.S. federal income or estate tax law. Changes in U.S.
federal income or estate tax law could reduce or eliminate the tax advantages of certain of our products and thus make
such products less attractive to clients.
Changes in corporate tax laws and regulations and in the interpretation of such laws and regulations, as well as
adverse determinations regarding the application of such laws and regulations, could adversely affect our
earnings.
We are subject to the income tax laws of the U.S., its states and municipalities and those of the foreign jurisdictions in
which we have significant business operations. These tax laws are complex and may be subject to different interpretations.
We must make judgments and interpretations about the application of these inherently complex tax laws when determining
the provision for income taxes and must also make estimates about when in the future certain items affect taxable income
in the various tax jurisdictions. Disputes over interpretations of the tax laws may be settled with the taxing authority upon
examination or audit. In addition, changes to the Internal Revenue Code, administrative rulings or court decisions could
increase our provision for income taxes and reduce our earnings.
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