Ameriprise 2014 Annual Report Download - page 117

Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm
To the Board of Directors and Shareholders of Ameriprise Financial, Inc.:
In our opinion, the accompanying consolidated balance sheets and the related consolidated statements of operations,
comprehensive income, equity, and of cash flows present fairly, in all material respects, the financial position of Ameriprise
Financial, Inc. and its subsidiaries (the ‘‘Company’’) at December 31, 2014 and 2013, and the results of their operations
and their cash flows for each of the three years in the period ended December 31, 2014 in conformity with accounting
principles generally accepted in the United States of America. Also in our opinion, the Company maintained, in all material
respects, effective internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2014, based on criteria established in
Internal Control — Integrated Framework, 2013 issued by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway
Commission (‘‘COSO’’). The Company’s management is responsible for these financial statements, 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. Our
responsibility is to express opinions on these financial statements and on the Company’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.
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.
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.
/s/ PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP
Minneapolis, Minnesota
February 24, 2015
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