ABB Annual Report 2012 PDF - ABB Group Annual Report 2012

Report of the Statutory Auditor on the Consolidated Financial StatementsTo the General Meeting of ABB Ltd, ZurichAs statutory auditor, we have audited the accompanying consolidated financialstatements of ABB Ltd, which are comprised of the consolidated balancesheets as of December 31, 2012 and 2011, and the related consolidatedstatements of income, comprehensive income, cash flows, and changes instockholders’ equity, and notes thereto, for each of the three years in theperiod ended December 31, 2012.Board of Directors’ ResponsibilityThe Board of Directors is responsible for the preparation and fair presentationof the consolidated financial statements in accordance with U.S. generallyaccepted accounting principles and the requirements of Swiss law. This responsibilityincludes designing, implementing and maintaining an internal controlsystem relevant to the preparation and fair presentation of consolidated financialstatements that are free from material misstatement, whether due tofraud or error. The Board of Directors is further responsible for selecting andapplying appropriate accounting policies and making accounting estimatesthat are reasonable in the circumstances.Auditor’s ResponsibilityOur responsibility is to express an opinion on these consolidated financialstatements based on our audits. We conducted our audits in accordance withSwiss law, Swiss Auditing Standards and the standards of the Public CompanyAccounting Oversight Board (United States). Those standards requirethat we plan and perform the audit to obtain reasonable assurance whetherthe consolidated financial statements are free of material misstatement.An audit involves performing procedures to obtain audit evidence about theamounts and disclosures in the consolidated financial statements. Theprocedures selected depend on the auditor’s judgment, including the assessmentof the risks of material misstatement of the consolidated financialstatements, whether due to fraud or error. In making those risk assessments,the auditor considers the internal control system relevant to the entity’spreparation and fair presentation of the consolidated financial statements inorder to design audit procedures that are appropriate in the circumstances.An audit also includes evaluating the appropriateness of the accounting policiesused and the reasonableness of accounting estimates made, as wellas evaluating the overall presentation of the consolidated financial statements.We believe that the audit evidence we have obtained is sufficient and appropriateto provide a basis for our audit opinion.OpinionIn our opinion, the financial statements referred to above, present fairly, in allmaterial respects, the consolidated financial position of ABB Ltd as of December31, 2012 and 2011, and the consolidated results of its operations and itscash flows for each of the three years in the period ended December 31, 2012,in accordance with U.S generally accepted accounting principles and complywith Swiss law.Report on other legal requirementsWe confirm that we meet the legal requirements on licensing according to theAuditor Oversight Act (AOA) and independence (article 728 CO and article 11AOA) and that there are no circumstances incompatible with our independence.In accordance with article 728a paragraph 1 item 3 CO and Swiss AuditingStandard 890, we confirm that an internal control system exists, whichhas been designed for the preparation of consolidated financial statementsaccording to the instructions of the Board of Directors.We recommend that the consolidated financial statements submitted to you beapproved.We also have audited, in accordance with the standards of the Public CompanyAccounting Oversight Board (United States), ABB Ltd’s internal control overfinancial reporting as of December 31, 2012, based on criteria established inInternal Control – Integrated Framework issued by the Committee of SponsoringOrganizations of the Treadway Commission (COSO), and our report datedMarch 14, 2013 expressed an unqualified opinion on the effectiveness ofABB Ltd’s internal control over financial reporting.Ernst & Young LtdNigel JonesLicensed audit expert(Auditor in charge)Zurich, SwitzerlandMarch 14, 2013John CassidyU.S. Certified Public Accountant136 Financial review | ABB Annual Report 2012