Fifth Third Bank 2004 Annual Report Download - page 37

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Fifth Third Bancorp 35
REPORT OF INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM
To the Shareholders and Board of Directors of Fifth Third Bancorp:
We have audited the accompanying consolidated balance sheets of Fifth Third Bancorp and subsidiaries (the “Bancorp”) as of December
31, 2004 and 2003, and the related consolidated statements of income, changes in shareholders’ equity, and cash fl ows for each of the three
years in the period ended December 31, 2004. These fi nancial statements are the responsibility of the Bancorp’s management. Our responsibil-
ity is to express an opinion on these fi nancial 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 fi nancial statements are free of material
misstatement. An audit includes examining, on a test basis, evidence supporting the amounts and disclosures in the fi nancial statements. An
audit also includes assessing the accounting principles used and signifi cant estimates made by management, as well as evaluating the overall
fi nancial statement presentation. We believe that our audits provide a reasonable basis for our opinion.
In our opinion, such consolidated fi nancial statements present fairly, in all material respects, the fi nancial position of Fifth Third Bancorp
and subsidiaries at December 31, 2004 and 2003, and the results of their operations and their cash fl ows for each of the three years in the
period ended December 31, 2004, in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America.
As discussed in Note 1 – New Accounting Pronouncements, effective January 1, 2004, the Bancorp changed its method of accounting
for stock-based compensation by adopting the fair value recognition provisions of Statement of Financial Accounting Standards (SFAS) No.
123, “Accounting for Stock-Based Compensation,” using the retroactive restatement method. As further discussed in Note 1 – New Account-
ing Pronouncements, the Bancorp adopted the provisions of Financial Accounting Standards Board Interpretation No. 46, “Consolidation of
Variable Interest Entities,” effective July 1, 2003.
We have also audited, in accordance with the standards of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States), the effec-
tiveness of the Bancorp’s internal control over fi nancial reporting as of December 31, 2004, based on the criteria established in Internal
Control—Integrated Framework issued by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission and our report dated
February 9, 2005 expressed an unqualifi ed opinion on management’s assessment of the effectiveness of the Bancorp’s internal control over
fi nancial reporting and an unqualifi ed opinion on the effectiveness of the Bancorp’s internal control over fi nancial reporting.
Cincinnati, Ohio
February 9, 2005