JP Morgan Chase 2010 Annual Report Download - page 159

Report of independent registered public accounting firm
JPMorgan Chase & Co./2010 Annual Report
159
Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm
To the Board of Directors and Stockholders of JPMorgan
Chase & Co.:
In our opinion, the accompanying consolidated balance sheets and
the related consolidated statements of income, changes in stock-
holders’ equity and comprehensive income and cash flows present
fairly, in all material respects, the financial position of JPMorgan
Chase & Co. and its subsidiaries (the “Firm”) at December 31,
2010 and 2009, and the results of their operations and their cash
flows for each of the three years in the period ended December 31,
2010, in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted
in the United States of America. Also in our opinion, the Firm
maintained, in all material respects, effective internal control over
financial reporting as of December 31, 2010, based on criteria
established in Internal Control - Integrated Framework issued by
the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Com-
mission (COSO). The Firm'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 the accompany-
ing “Management's report on internal control over financial report-
ing.” Our responsibility is to express opinions on these financial
statements and on the Firm's internal control over financial report-
ing 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 support-
ing the amounts and disclosures in the financial statements, assess-
ing 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 finan-
cial 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 nec-
essary 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 mainte-
nance of records that, in reasonable detail, accurately and fairly
reflect the transactions and dispositions of the assets of the com-
pany; (ii) provide reasonable assurance that transactions are re-
corded 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 preven-
tion or timely detection of unauthorized acquisition, use, or disposi-
tion 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.
February 28, 2011
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