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This excerpt taken from the SYT 20-F filed Mar 1, 2006. Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm
We have audited managements assessment, included in the accompanying Report of Syngenta Management on Internal Control over Financial Reporting that Syngenta AG and subsidiaries (Syngenta) maintained effective internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2005, based on criteria established in Internal ControlIntegrated Framework issued by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission (the COSO criteria). Syngentas 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 an opinion on managements assessment and an opinion on the effectiveness of the companys internal control over financial reporting based on our audit. We conducted our audit 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 effective internal control over financial reporting was maintained in all material respects. Our audit included obtaining an understanding of internal control over financial reporting, evaluating managements assessment, testing and evaluating the design and operating effectiveness of internal control, and performing such other procedures as we considered necessary in the circumstances. We believe that our audit provides a reasonable basis for our opinion. A companys 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 acceptable accounting principles. A companys internal control over financial reporting includes those policies and procedures that (1) pertain to the maintenance of records that, in reasonable detail, accurately and fairly reflect the transactions and dispositions of the assets of the company; (2) provide reasonable assurance that transactions are recorded as necessary to permit preparation of financial statements in accordance with generally acceptable 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 (3) provide reasonable assurance regarding prevention or timely detection of unauthorized acquisition, use, or disposition of the companys 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. In our opinion, managements assessment that Syngenta maintained effective internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2005, is fairly stated, in all material respects, based on the COSO criteria. Also, in our opinion, Syngenta maintained, in all material respects, effective internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2005, based on the COSO criteria. We also have audited, in accordance with the standards of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States), the consolidated balance sheets of Syngenta as of December 31, 2005, 2004 and 2003, and the related consolidated income statements, statements of changes in shareholders equity, and cash flow statements for each of the three years in the period ended December 31, 2005 and our report dated February 8, 2006 expressed an unqualified opinion thereon.
F-2
We have audited the accompanying consolidated balance sheets of Syngenta AG and subsidiaries (Syngenta) as of December 31, 2005, 2004 and 2003, and the related consolidated income statements, statements of changes in shareholders equity, and cash flow statements for each of the three years in the period ended December 31, 2005. These financial statements are the responsibility of the Companys management. Our responsibility is to express an opinion on these financial 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 financial statements are free of material misstatement. An audit includes examining, on a test basis, evidence supporting the amounts and disclosures in the financial statements. An audit also includes assessing the accounting principles used and significant estimates made by management, as well as evaluating the overall financial statement presentation. We believe that our audits provide a reasonable basis for our opinion. In our opinion, the financial statements referred to above present fairly, in all material respects, the consolidated financial position of Syngenta at December 31, 2005, 2004 and 2003, and the consolidated results of its operations and its cash flows for each of the three years in the period ended December 31, 2005, in conformity with International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS), which differ in certain respects from U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (see note 33 to the consolidated financial statements). We also have audited, in accordance with the standards of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States), the effectiveness of Syngentas internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2005, based on criteria established in Internal Control-Integrated Framework issued by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission and our report dated February 8, 2006 expressed an unqualified opinion thereon.
F-3 |
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