Apple Inc.'s 2012 financial statements include the following audit report from Ernst & Young LLP.

Required

a. To whom is the report addressed? Why?

b. In your own words, briefly describe the audit process. What steps do auditors take to determine whether a company's financial statements are free from material misstatement?

c. What is the nature of Ernst \& Young's opinion? What do you believe the word fairly means? Is Ernst \& Young providing a guarantee to Apple's financial statement users?

d. What other opinion is Ernst \& Young rendering? Why is this opinion important?

Transcribed Image Text:

Report of Ernst & Young LLP, Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm The Board of Directors and Shareholders of Apple Inc. We have audited the accompanying consolidated balance sheets of Apple Inc. as of September 29, 2012 and September 24, 2011, and the related consolidated statements of operations, shareholders' equity and cash flows for each of the three years in the period ended September 29, 2012. These financial statements are the responsibility of the Company's 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 ae 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 Apple Inc. at September 29, 2012 and September 24, 2011, and the consolidated results of its operations and its cash flows for each of the three years in the period ended September 29, 2012, in conformity with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles. We also have audited, in accordance with the standards of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States), Apple Inc.s internal control over financial reporting as of September 29, 2012, based on criteria established in Internal Control-Integrated Framework issued by the committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission and our report dated October 31, 2012 expressed an unqualified opinion thereon. San Jose, California October 31, 2012 /s/ Ernst & Young LLP