Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines 2004 Annual Report Download - page 20

ROYAL CARIBBEAN CRUISES LTD.
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REPORT OF INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM
We have completed an integrated audit of Royal Caribbean Cruises
Ltd.’s 2004 consolidated financial statements and of its internal control
over financial reporting as of December 31, 2004 and audits of its 2003
and 2002 consolidated financial statements in accordance with the
standards of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United
States). Our opinions, based on our audits, are presented below.
CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
In our opinion, the accompanying consolidated balance sheets and
the related consolidated statements of operations, cash flows and
shareholders' equity, present fairly, in all material respects, the finan-
cial position of Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. and its subsidiaries at
December 31, 2004 and 2003, and the results of their operations
and their cash flows for each of the three years in the period ended
December 31, 2004 in conformity with accounting principles gen-
erally accepted in the United States of America. These financial
statements are the responsibility of the Company’s management.
Our responsibility is to express an opinion on these financial state-
ments based on our audits. Weconducted our audits of these
statements in accordance with the standards of the Public
Company Accounting Oversight Board(United States). Those stan-
dards requirethat we plan and performthe audit to obtain reason-
able assurance about whether the financial statements are free of
material misstatement. An audit of financial statements includes
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. We
believe that our audits provide a reasonable basis for our opinion.
INTERNAL CONTROL OVER FINANCIAL REPORTING
Also, in our opinion, management’s assessment, included in
Management’s Report on Internal Control Over Financial Reporting
appearing in this 2004 Annual Report, that the Company main-
tained effective internal control over financial reporting as of
December 31, 2004 based on criteria established in Internal
Control – Integrated Framework issued by the Committee of
Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission
(“COSO”), is fairly stated, in all material respects, based on those
criteria. Furthermore, in our opinion, the Company maintained, in all
material respects, effective internal control over financial reporting
as of December 31, 2004, based on criteria established in Internal
Control – Integrated Framework issued by the COSO. The
Company’s management is responsible for maintaining effective
internal control over financial reporting and for its assessment of
the effectiveness of internal control over financial reporting. Our
responsibility is to express opinions on management’s assessment
and on the effectiveness of the Company’s internal control over
financial reporting based on our audit. We conducted our audit of
internal control over financial reporting in accordance with the stan-
dards 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 effective inter-
nal control over financial reporting was maintained in all material
respects. An audit of internal control over financial reporting
includes obtaining an understanding of internal control over finan-
cial reporting, evaluating management’s assessment, testing and
evaluating the design and operating effectiveness of internal con-
trol, and performing such other procedures as we consider neces-
sary in the circumstances. We believe that our audit provides a rea-
sonable basis for our opinions.
Acompany’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 company; (ii)
provide reasonable assurance that transactions are recorded as nec-
essaryto 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 detec-
tion 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 finan-
cial reporting may not prevent or detect misstatements. Also,
projections of any evaluation of effectiveness to futureperiods
are subject to the risk that controls may become inadequate
because of changes in conditions, or that the degree of com-
pliance with the policies or procedures may deteriorate.
PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP
Miami, Florida
March 14, 2005
To the Board of Directors and Shareholders of Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd.: